Take Your Love With Me
by tea-induced scribbles
Summary: The third instalment of an AU version of the show. 5 months had passed since the Nathan James crew had celebrated it's success in St Louis and found home... Tomchel and family goodness, Mike/Kate(OC), Tex/Anna (OC), Ravit lives, Kate gets a puppy and so many more things happen :-) (COMPLETE)
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: It's so nice to be back! I planned to wait until S3 was over on TV to write this but just couldn't wait. So this is my AU version of Season 3, updates will be slower due to the fact it will be running with a slightly deviated story line from what you'll see on the actual show. I also own nothing except my imagination and my OC's Anna and Kate. **Spoiler alert** : if you haven't read the other two stories in the series... Ravit is alive and Sasha Cooper is Tom's sister in my version. Please Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 _5 months later..._

* * *

"You're going to stay in this bed all day?" Tom asked her as he was dressed for the day, he'd been up with the kids. They'd had breakfast together before the bus picked them for school while Rachel had slept in. She had gotten up at 3am to feed the twins. They weren't lying when they said twins were twice as much work but Tom enjoyed every moment since their debut into their world 4 weeks ago. He helped where he could and their friends came in and out to assist during the days so Rachel could rest as she had a rough labor that ended up with her having a C-section.

The identical twin girls; Evelyn and Olivia Scott-Chandler entered the world healthy and whole. He'd fallen in love from the first ultrasound but fell in love all over again when he held their tiny little bodies in his arms. He never thought he'd be blessed with more children let alone another woman to love but he was a lucky man. He counted all of his blessings every morning.

The two blessing were currently in their bassinette by Rachel's side of the bed peacefully sleeping. Overall they were pretty good babies, they didn't really cry a lot and they made their needs known in a rather polite manner. Tom quipped it was Rachel's genes but the regressive ones coming through as she had no problem in being aggressive when she wanted something. Rachel claimed they had learned from Tom's calming presence and patience. Either way in his mind they were perfect just like Sammy and Ashley.

"Yes, I might shower today when I have more energy." Rachel said with a wry smile with a yawn. Tom moved so he was above her and lowered himself down until his face was close to hers.

"Or you could wait for me when I come home. I could scrub your back." He offered before he pressed a kiss to her lips. Rachel slid her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Tom knew he should pull back but he couldn't help but want to stay in bed with her. He wished there was such a thing as paternity leave for CNO but it was a full time job, one he strangely enjoyed but part of him did miss being out on the Nathan James in the open sea. But the trade off was being home with the kids, Jed and Rachel.

The last 5 months had been something of a dream for him. Sure there had been some real rough patches with Sammy and Ashley. they had not been thrilled with the idea of Rachel being with him, that they were a couple. They hated that Rachel was replacing their mother and them with the twins. But Rachel and Tom sat down with them and explained the situation. Tom explained that adults like children had complicated feelings. That he loved Darien and a part of him always would, he also loved Rachel. That him being with her wasn't about replacing anyone, it was about being happy and moving forward with their lives. He felt he mucked it up but Rachel kind of saved it.

She spoke to them both like they were adults, she was blunt in telling them that she cared for them even if they didn't like her. She told them of how she admired their love for their mother and she wasn't trying to take that away from them or try to put herself in Darien's place. She told them that she loved Tom, it was then she told a small lie about her feelings changing for him in just the past couple months than over a year. She told them that she was in love with him, she wanted to be a member of their family, to have the twins be members too.

As much as Tom didn't like it, she told them that he wasn't the twins biological father. She told them because as she explained to Tom that they needed to know that he hadn't betrayed Darien or his vows, she felt it was important they knew he stayed true and committed. It was important as he was their role model. She told them that she hoped in time, they'd give her and the twins a chance as she wanted Ashley and Sam to be her family too as much as she wanted to in theirs. That she was too old to know all the awesome things kids knew, that Ashley and Sammy would be older siblings to the twins. He had to admit she had sold it well and fact she asked they gave her a chance than just say it was how it would be, smoothed a lot of raw feelings. They begrudgingly said they would give her a chance.

Ashley had been the first one to cave and accept Rachel, he felt it was that Ashley missed having an older woman to model behaviour from and because Rachel spoke to her like she were an adult something that was important to a girl on the cusp of becoming an adolescent. It didn't hurt that an ultrasound technician blew the surprise of the babies' sex. So Ashley was suddenly not so outnumbered by the men in the house. Rachel made an effort to really bond with her, even asking Ashley's help with buying baby clothes for the girls and Tom knew the two talked about a lot of stuff he as a father didn't want to enter a discussion about women stuff like periods and shopping... So he was grateful for getting off the hook for that.

Sammy was the stubborn one, he seemed to inherit Tom's stubbornness and Darien's bad temper. Rachel did her best and was just as persistent and patient with Sammy as she had whenever Tom was in a bad mood on the ship. Tom tried to help but Sammy was still at the age where he was just too irrational to see reason but there were moments when he seemed like he wanted to be included in everything but the only reason he held back was out of some reserved honour for Darien's memory even though it was unnecessary. Rachel had made sure that there was at least a couple photos of Darien around the house, she even asked for family stories. Something tom knew had to be hard on some level to listen to. But she was committed to them all. He loved her with every fibre of his being for it.

Tom did his best to show the same level of commitment to her. He made time for her while also having alone time with Sammy and Ashley so they knew he wasn't leaving them behind. It was all a balancing act with his job but he did it best he could. He showed Rachel every chance he could how he felt for her, he let her know how much he cherished her and the family she'd given him.

Yes, the kids were grieving and they had their bad days as well as their good days but he could see they healing, that they were starting flourish in the stability of their home in St Louis. Sure it wasn't perfect but Tom was happy, really happy with how life was turning out.

Jed however was the possibly the most accepting of everyone in the family, hell he'd built two cribs for the twins in Norfolk after the Nathan James sailed all the weeks ago. He and Ashley helped Rachel with setting up the nursery in the last few months when Tom wasn't able to due to his hours. If anything, it seemed like Jed knew all along that Tom was going to end up with her. It was like he'd been waiting for the call when Tom told him to pack up the kids and bring them to St Louis.

He and Rachel had decided that night in the hotel that they weren't going to waste anymore time separated and frankly they'd spent the better part the last year together even if they hadn't been romantically involved for the months in the Arctic and before Baltimore. It just that they knew in their bones what they had was right, so they found a house big enough for Sammy, Ashley, the twins, Jed and the two of them. But they'd decided for the sake of not overloading the kids to spend the first couple months sleeping in separate rooms.

They'd also put their plans for marrying on the backburner. Tom wanted to marry her right away but Rachel wanted the kids to get used to the idea of her being around long term and the twins. She said she didn't want their relationship and marriage feel as if it was shoved down the kids throats. Part of him agreed but the side of him that was a traditionalist at heart balked at it all. But he also understood that some of her reluctance wasn't just protecting the kids but herself as he had to remember her past relationships hadn't been easy for her.

So those first two months of separate sleeping arrangements hadn't lasted more than a week before Tom started sneaking into Rachel's room but their relationship had grown in strides. They had their own hiccups where they'd fight but never anything that was serious, they seemed to be on the same page about their wants for each other and the kids. It was just the timing of some things were a little off. But he was working on them.

"I think you should have sex me." Rachel said as she pulled back from the kiss and smiled up at him.

"The doctor said not to for 6 weeks." Tom reminded her.

"She's a quack." Rachel told him, Tom laughed and shook his head at her. Not that he wouldn't mind indulging her, he was ready after five weeks of no sex after having it steady for nearly three months before that tended to make him a little too easy. Especially when she looked at him as she was right now.

"I think I'd like to wait until you get the all clear." He murmured against her lips before she kissed him again.

"I'm a doctor and I'm telling you that I'm fine." Rachel assured him between kisses, she was exhausted and if she were honest didn't want to have sex. Sure Tom was pressing all the right buttons in her when he was all clean and smart in his uniform. Part of her was just enjoying the tease right now as she knew she looked like shit, she wasn't feeling like the most attractive woman either with dirty hair, a saggy tummy and milk laden breasts. She just like these moments as Tom made her feel like a sexy and vivacious woman. Tom pulled back from the kiss and gave her a smile.

"Yeah, that doesn't work for me and I gotta get to work." Tom told her with a smile. He pulled himself out of her arms and she pouted at him, it was fucking sexy when she did it as it was more sultry than petulant. He stood up and straightened his shirt and looked down at her as she laid in twisted bed sheets and one of his Navy t-shirts. She looked like she should belong in the centre fold of Maxim, luckily for him she didn't as only he got the pleasure of seeing her like this. He imprinted the current view in his memories for the day ahead of him. So when he was listening to Michener whine about something Kate did he could picture this moment and all the things he could have been doing with Rachel.

"Can you come home early today?" Rachel asked as she snuggled down on the bedding as she felt a lot better from Tom's kisses and heated looks.

"Isn't Kate coming over today?" Tom asked her, frowning as he didn't understand why she'd want him early.

"Yes, but she's been a little run down of late. Something is wrong, I told her to see a doctor but you know how she is." Rachel told him basically it was their short hand of Rachel saying 'she won't tell me, you need to talk to her'. It meant Kate wasn't sharing with Rachel so it was his turn to try.

Since Mike had taken up Captaincy of the Nathan James and sailed off to spread the cure to Asia, Rachel and Tom had promised the man they'd touch base with Kate making sure she was ok. After the three months Kate had gone through in his absence, it was more important than ever.

"Ok, I'll do my best to get home by lunch." Tom told her.

"Thank you." Rachel told him. Tom leaned over her one more time and gave her another quick kiss before he turned to the two bassinettes where the twins were currently punch drunk on their last feed of milk. "You two play nice with your Mommy and give Aunt Kate hell." he whispered to them. He turned to Rachel who chuckled at his orders. He really wished he had the ability to call in sick as he would prefer a day alone with Rachel than what was on his schedule for the day.

* * *

"How are we with the Regents, Caretakers or whatever they are calling themselves out west?" Kate asked Anna as she was laying down on the couch in their shared office. She had caught the stomach flu last month and hadn't really bounced back. But then she figured it was that she was overworking herself between the company, helping Rachel and Kara, then the odd weekend when Lena brought the girls over to her house for a visit.

"All good, everyone's happy. I think they like caretakers less tyrannical sounding. We have power up across the east coast and spreading slowly west through America. It's all working out great. Just as we planned." Anna told her from the desk. Anna worked about 20 hours a week while Kate had been burning the candle at both ends. It wasn't like she had anything to go home to, it was just an empty house it wasn't really home until Lena and the girls were over.

"Good, I really want to look into the railroads next after we finish with power. I have it on good authority that Michener isn't coming through on his promises." Kate said with a sigh as nausea and exhaustion rolled over her.

"It can wait. You look like shit. Have you seen a doctor yet?" Anna asked her.

"Yeah, Anemia." Kate told her, which was partially true. She was anemic but she was also pregnant. She just couldn't say it in the office because someone would overhear and she wanted to keep those in know small. So she planned to tell Anna later outside of the office.

"You? You're like genetically modified against that mere mortal deficiencies." Anna quipped, Kate smiled and gave a shrug.

"Yeah, but all the blood transfusions for Rachel and the babies. Not enough red meat left me a little low." Kate said, Mike had left on the Nathan James to help distribute the cure Asia. His first command as the new Captain of the Nathan James. She could still see the way he beamed at being given the command. Yes, it had been sad to see him go but it had been great to see him happy about his work again. He hadn't been a fan of being the 'Acting' CNO but her role as CEO of Lassiter Industries had a lot of perks. One of them working together on projects.

Mike had spent a month searching for Christina for a divorce but not able to find her applied for divorce procedures based on the assumption she was presumed dead. After the divorce had been granted, he and Kate had the quickest wedding post pandemic and they had started their life as a married couple. They got a house next door to Tom and Rachel, brought the kids down. Lena hadn't wanted to give up the house in Norfolk so she visited whenever she could. Those two months felt like a dream to Kate, like they had never really happened at all.

2 weeks after Mike's departure, Christina came to St Louis and cried to any media outlet like she was a victim of bad circumstances as she thought she'd find her husband and family only to have it torn apart by Kate Lassiter. Christina had a story to cover up all the mistakes she had made and make herself look like a victim of bad happenstance. She took Kate to court, dragged her name and Mike's through the mud as she just wanted her old life back and that Kate had ripped that away from her and destroyed her good husband's reputation by seducing him away from a 'good and moral' life.

She managed to paint Kate as mentally unstable woman suffering from PTSD and depression. It didn't help that Christina had a shark of a lawyer and an expert doctor to look over all the information on the Valkyrie network and make those simple deductions and convince a judge that Kate was an unfit guardian for the girls. That even with Mike's paperwork and her adoption of the girls was meaningless.

It didn't matter that Kate worked hard and was well respected in the community. It didn't matter that the kids wanted her to be their guardian and live with her, it didn't matter that her lawyer was better than Christina's, none of it mattered.

In the end, the judge on the case; of course ruled in Christina's favour. Kate and Mike's marriage of 4 weeks had been dissolved like it never happened. His reasoning was that Mike hadn't waited long enough and the judge on their case had incorrectly ruled over it. Thus Christina was given full custody of the girls with only Lena being allowed weekend visitation. Christina even had the gall to want her marriage to Mike to stay in place until Mike came home from his mission as she required his benefits and pay to look after the girls.

Not that Kate needed the money, it just made her angry that the Judge allowed it all to happen. She knew why because one of Michener's minions came to her with Christina with an offer. She could hand over her company and all it's holdings to the US government or lose Mike and the kids.

Kate had almost signed it all over but Ravit and Anna talked her out of it. They made her see the reality that even if she gave up Lassiter Industries, Christina still had legal rights to take the kids anyway thanks to it being public record that Kate was 'unfit guardian'. So she'd lose out either way.

She just had to wait for Mike to come home and then he could sort it out. She just hoped he would forgive her for failing him, for losing their home and kids. She knew the guilt ate at her constantly it was why she was so hellbent on ruining Michener and his work where she could. She made sure whatever she did helped America and the world in general. She just made sure she fulfilled Michener's promises where he struggled, stamping Lassiter Industries' name on it and making sure the world knew that Michener had nothing to do with it. She wanted to make sure the world knew Michener was ineffectual and not worth his title without saying out loud.

Lena had the girls every weekend which was meant they came over to Kate's house. It wasn't enough as the girls wanted to stay with her and Lena full time. After Kate lost custody, Lena had returned to Norfolk to continue her work in perma-culture farming up north during the week and only came down for the weekends. Kate didn't blame her as Lena had said it was best to stay busy until Mike came back.

"Well, I'll let Mrs Miller know and get her to send us a cow." Anna told her, she hated seeing Kate so pale and ill especially given she was moving so slowly and just keeping up with them all.

Anna wished the Nathan James hadn't been sailing under EMCOM so Mike could talk to Kate. She knew it was an unspoken rule to never give a sailor or soldier bad news from home but Anna felt Mike deserved to know. The man had a right to know what was going on and she felt Kate needed to hear from him that everything would be ok. That he could salve whatever was fuelling Kate's warpath and get her to calm down and step back to look after herself.

"Sounds good, Just make sure it's butchered this time. I felt really horrible telling Zoe that Daisy was going to a farm to run around and play." Kate told her as she pushed herself up off the lounge. "If we're all good. I'm going to head over to Rachel's." Kate added.

"Yeah, we're all good but I think you need to take a week off." Anna told her.

"I'll think about it." Kate told her as it probably wasn't a bad idea.

* * *

Tom was halfway to the car when he heard the soft whimpering noise of an animal. He looked around for the source but couldn't see it anywhere. So he walked around to find the source as he followed the noise. He stopped at the fence between his property and Mike's where they stored their bins.

He lifted the lids off his own first and found nothing but trash. But the noise was still coming from the area. He looked around and didn't see any animals on the ground. He checked his watch and looked to Mike's house. It was early enough he could hop the fence and see if the animal was on their side. The saddest whimpering sounded and his decision was made.

He hopped over the fence and looked around the area before he lifted the lid of the recycling bin. He was availed by a terrible smell of urine and faeces. He saw the source as there in the bin was a cardboard box that had paw prints on it and an address slip that had Kate's name on it. Tom flipped the lid off the box inside was small quivering mess of a black puppy sitting in its own mess looking miserable.

It looked up at him and whimpered even more loudly. "Oh buddy." Tom said feeling his heart strings being pulled as the puppy looked confused and in pain. It tried to get up but wavered on its feet as the box shook about from the movement. Tom reached in, picked up the box and lifted it out of the bin.

"Let's get you cleaned up and to your proper owner." He said, he ignored the smell but kept the box away from him as he didn't need to ruin his uniform. He was definitely going to be late to work.

"Son, figured you'd be gone by now." Jed said.

"I found this." Tom said showing him the contents of the box. He really wanted to put the box down and let the puppy out but he was afraid of it running off.

"Ok." Jed said as he looked to the box and the sorry looking little puppy inside.

"Present from Mike to Kate and the girls." Tom said, he watched his father's expression grow dark with understanding. After Kate lost the children. she'd moved out of the house and Mike and the kids shared next door to Tom's place. The kids stayed and Christina moved in acting as though she owned the place. First thing she did was renovate the house and toss out everything that Kate and Mike shared. Tom and Jed made it their mission in those weeks to salvage what they could from the garbage; photos and knick knacks etc. They stowed them in the garage as Kate had been too much of a mess to handle seeing it all.

She still was, she just buried herself in work and helping her friends. While she had the girls on the weekend it wasn't enough, he could tell she wasn't happy, but more going through the motions. It made him wish that he hadn't pushed Mike to take up Captaincy of the Nathan James. But then he hadn't counted on Christina showing up. He was just grateful that Kate was still present in their lives as she helped Rachel through her pregnancy and with the babies when Tom had to work. He knew it hadn't been easy for her to come over to their place as it reminded her of a life she once had. He knew she was doing her best to cope.

Christina however was the neighbour from hell. This latest offence just added to the list. Throwing a puppy in the trash really got under his skin but he knew it wasn't worth talking to her about as Christina lived in her own world. A world where she got whatever she wanted and she was always right. At least the girls were being taken care of. Tom made sure to tell Christina he'd be keeping an eye on the kids as a favour to Mike.

"I'll take care of it." Jed said to him as he held out his hands for the box.

"You sure?" Tom asked him.

"Yeah, he just needs a hose down and some attention of the friendly kind."

"We can't keep him." Tom told Jed.

"I know, I think Kate will want this puppy. It might be good practice for giving her the rest of the stuff we're holding for her." Jed said with a kind smile to the dog as he placed the box on the grass of the front yard, he tipped it slowly so the dog wasn't too off put. The dog clued in quick and jumped out of the box on to the grass. "Better run before he wants to rub his business on your shiny shoes." Jed said with an amused smile as the puppy looked at them wondering who to give his attention to first.

"Yeah, good idea." Tom remarked as he moved to his car, he looked over to see his father calling to the puppy to follow him.

* * *

"Ms Zhang, Ms Allison Shaw is here to see you." Gina said when Anna picked up the phone.

"Tell her I'm too busy. Thank you." Anna replied, she barely hung up the phone when the door swung open and Allison Shaw Chief of Staff for President Michener walked into her and Kate's office like she owned it. She was tall, blond attractive woman who was immaculately put together. She was formidable woman, but Anna after her years in the Military and the Pandemic was not one to cower but the Amazonian woman routine.

"I can see you are free." Allison said coolly as she forced herself into Anna and Kate's office. She looked around noting that the large room that had two long couches, two desks. It was rather unusual for CEO's to share an office but then it spoke volumes of Anna and Kate's friendship and business partnership. No walls meant no secrets in Allison's world

"How very American of you to be bullheaded and push your way into my office." Anna drawled as she closed her laptop and sat back in her chair to look at the blonde woman. She had feeling in another life they could have been friends but it was not that life as she worked for Michener. The only person she trusted in Michener's office was Kara and Tom... and their mole who gave them updates on what Michener was up to.

"Shall I call security?" Gina asked from the door, her receptionist looked worried more so for her job than Allison as Anna's reputation from up north had followed her to Lassiter Industries. Anna shook her head.

"No, it's ok but call Mrs Miller and apologise for my tardiness and reschedule our call for a time of her choosing." Anna told Gina who nodded and also looked relieved at not being in trouble. Anna wasn't going to get angry at Gina as she was good worker; she couldn't control people like Allison and it wasn't her job to anyway.

"Yes, Ma'am." she said, she closed the door and Anna looked to Allison with a bored look.

"You have three minutes before I start charging your government for my time." Anna told her as she sank down in her office chair getting comfortable as she had a feeling Allison was going to shout at her for something. It wasn't the first time she'd darken their doorstep and so today wouldn't be the last time either.

"You and Kathryn Lassiter have been ignoring the President's invitation to the oval office." Allison said.

"Isn't the office a square shaped?" Anna asked, she had only been to the old courtroom house where Michener had set up shop once but she remember the 'oval office' it being an old courtroom converted into a large situational room/meeting room that was connected to Michener's office that used to be judge's chambers. But they weren't round shaped rooms in any definition of the word.

"We need your help." Allison said laying it on the line. She knew Michener was going to lose the next election if Kate and Anna didn't have Lassiter Industries side with them. She didn't know what caused Kate to put Lassiter Industries on it's mission but it was a huge powerhouse, not just domestically but internationally as well. It wasn't good for them to be against Michener even if they never said as much publically it was felt.

"And Kate needed the President's support three months ago and he was keenly absent. Now she survived, so I think he can do the same without us." Anna drawled in a casual tone. Allison fought the urge to roll her eyes as she felt what happened to Kate was tragic but not relevant to Michener.

"Our allies are withdrawing from the capital, your company's alliances with the warlords are undermining Michener's efforts to rebuild the country and-" Allison started but Anna cut her off.

"I prefer to call them caretakers or let's call a spade a spade… They are farmers, engineers, builders and we have trade agreements. It's purely business which if you want to investigate us then by all means but it is all legitimate. Have you been to those areas that are controlled by what you call 'Warlords'?" Anna asked Allison.

"You know I haven't." Allison said as she'd been in St Louis from the beginning of the Pandemic. She also knew the point Anna was trying to make that Michener hadn't left St Louis to see these territories that refused to rejoin America... well Michener's America.

"Yes, then you would know that they hold nearly half of America's current food resources. Lassiter Industries gave them electricity from clean renewable sources, we help them by supplying their needs to protect their territory in the form of non lethal security systems in exchange they give me a portion of their crops and livestock. All that food that pours into this city and many others through out the continent which is all thanks to our work. How did you enjoy your breakfast this morning?" Anna asked her in a patronizing manner.

"I don't appreciate your tone." Allison said as she didn't like being spoken to as if she were an ignorant child.

"I don't appreciate you walking in here like you own me when really it's the other way round. Kate and I are co- owners of Lassiter Industries and its subsidiary companies. You wanted us to pick up the mantel, so you can't come in here all pissy because you don't like how we're doing our jobs. We're also not indebted to you, we don't even care for your government but we follow and respect your laws no matter how ridiculously restrictive and annoying they are." Anna told her.

"We gave you both citizenship, something we can revoke." Allison said deciding if Anna was going to patronize her then she'd do the same to her. Anna looked amused by the threat than worried.

"Sure, you go do that." Anna said not scared in the slightest. "Deport us and watch as your country falls into civil war, enjoy the lack of electricity, running water and satellite communications and all the other things our company supplies to you all." she leaned forward in her chair and gave Allison a chilling smile. "While you're at it you can go tell all those people out there how they will be unemployed, hungry and homeless within a month. How they can thank President Michener for that." Anna told her.

"You think you have that kind of power?" Allison asked her in disbelief, but she could see that Anna believed and hell, she was right. Kate and Anna were cutthroat enough to kill the American economy.

"I do. You were in office for 2 months and did nothing but worry about the outside world and trying to take control of international territories. Kate took control of the company and within 2 weeks she housed families, created jobs and opened up trade routes so people could get food. Those farmers that keep you up at night that are expanding their territories? It's being used for permaculture farming. Like I said they are care takers and if you or Michener bothered to meet them, you'd see that the people are happy and healthy there. They just don't want to acknowledge Michener as they didn't vote for him and they don't want to be subjugated by your government and its need to save the whole world motto." Anna told her.

"We need our international neighbours." Allison told her.

"You and Michener need them to pat you on the back for saving them. You need international governments to comply with the cure so the virus can be eradicated and for those displaced to get sent back to their countries so they don't live off your people's kindness. That's all. What America and it's people need is to be self sufficient instead of being at the mercy of global trade then maybe people will be more open to beginning new relationships with the outside world. They are happy to send out the military on Mercy missions but it's a low priority to them." Anna told her.

"You talk like a politician." Allison said as she couldn't believe the way Anna spoke. It was like she had doing her job for years than mere months.

"No, I listen to people and the American public doesn't want a war with China." Anna told her.

"We're not gearing for a war with anyone." Allison said it was a little left of centre for Anna to say such a thing.

"Please, I heard President Peng was hoarding the cure and you're now sending in a diplomat to browbeat him into spreading the cure across Asia." Anna said, she knew it to be true as her mole inside Michener's government told her so. She was amazed at Allison because she was either clueless or great actress.

"I have no idea where you heard that." Allison said as it was the first she was hearing about it.

"Yet you can't keep your nose out of their affairs or your allies. The Australian Government won't back you in a war with China neither will Lassiter Industries." Anna assured her.

"We're not going to war and you don't speak for the Australian Government." Allison said wanting to put Anna in her place.

"You're right, I don't but may I remind you that that you're not representing Australia's interests by browbeating China. They own a large portion of Australian land or did before the pandemic. I know for a fact my country is working with China to ascertain the chain of ownership for land parcels and mines to see if the owners have died because then the government can reclaim them for the people of Australia. It's a delicate and agonising process which means we all have to play nice." Anna told her.

"How do you know about Peng ad the hoarding of the cure?" Allison asked.

"People talk and let me tell you. A summit with 5 star dining isn't going to fix your problem. Now you can leave." Anna told her, the door opened and Allison saw the man and knew she was being escorted out by security.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Jed sat on the front porch of the house with a cup of coffee, watching the puppy run around playing in the grass. He'd wash the little dog in the laundry sink and tried to salvage what he could from the box knowing that the puppy was given those things for a reason. There had also been a letter attached to the front of the box for Kate. So he kept that for safe keeping before disposing of the box. He'd gone a for quick shop for the pup and the sundries they needed in the house. He'd left the puppy in the back laundry not wanting him to get lost.

After he returned, he'd checked in with Rachel and the twins to find the three of them sleeping, he wasn't too worried as he felt Rachel needed all the sleep she could get. He really liked having a daughter in law again. Sure he hadn't been a fan of Darien, she was a good woman but he always felt she was too soft and willowy. In the months of the outbreak she had shown some grit and strength but she never truly won him over. But he respected her.

Rachel on the other hand, he liked. She had gumption and he felt was a better fit for Tom as she kept him on his toes. But she was also strong enough to stand on her own, he liked the way she handled Sammy and Ashley with great patience. Something the kids needed as their lives were filled with numerous upheavals. The twins being a major change for them all. He loved the little mites as much as his other two grandkids as there was something about kids and babies that made him feel younger than his years. He also liked how Rachel wasn't afraid to ask for help or advice, it made him feel wanted in the family.

With Darien, he'd been relegated to the odd weekend and holidays but here in St Louis he was a full time grandparent and he loved it. He also loved the fact that his relationship with Tom was better than it had been in years. He didn't know why but he felt like he were a member of a more livier and active family, and it made him happy. More so when Kate and Mike were living next door, he'd unofficially adopted Kate and Mike's girls into their family as they had been an active and friendly bunch but when Christina came back in and ruined it... well it had affected them all. Christina refused to the let the girls come over to play and Kate lived in another suburb which was sad as he liked having her a neighbor. He just hoped Mike came home soon and sorted out the mess so he could have Kate as a neighbor again.

A taxi rolled down the street and Jed rose to his feet as he watched Kate step out of the front passenger seat. She closed the door and smiled to him, he couldn't help but feel she looked more worn out as the days passed since she lost Mike and the girls.

"Hey Jed." Kate said, she opened the gate and the closed it just as the puppy saw her. He bounded at her and raced around her legs making her laugh before she crouched down and to greet him. "Hello puppy." Kate said with a soft smile as the puppy wagged it's tail wildly and licked her hands before giving tiny happy yelps.

"Kate." Jed said warmly.

"You guys got a dog? I figured you'd be happy with just the twins." Kate said as she rose to her feet and the two hugged in greeting. She always liked Jed's hugs as they were so warm and strengthening like a father's hug. After a moment, she pulled back and dropped her arms away pointing to the dog that was sniffing at her shoes.

"Actually, he's yours." Jed told her.

"Mine?" Kate asked confused as she didn't remember buying a dog and she'd idly threatened to get one while Mike was away but it had been a joke.

"A gift from Mike. Got delivered to our door by mistake." Jed lied as he pulled the letter from his back pocket and handed it to her. He didn't feel Kate needed to know the pup had been tossed in the bin. Kate took it and opened the envelope and opened it, pulling out the letter. She opened the letter open and looked down at Mike's writing and smiled. Tears unexpectedly filled her eyes as she felt joy at having some communication even if it was over 3 months old given the date on the letter.

"His name is Scout. He's a Golden Retriever." Kate said to Jed with a smile as she read the letter for a second time. Mike wasn't one for long flowery letters, he just wrote that he missed her and the girls that he looked forward to seeing them when he came home. That he hoped he was there when the puppy arrived, but if not he wanted the girls to take responsibility of him and she was to supervise. It made her smile as it was like he was handing out a duty roster. But it also made her sad as the girls wouldn't be able to hold up their end of the deal given the situation. He finished the letter with 'Lima Yankee' which made her laugh as it was his version of 'I love you' that saved the girls from making disgusted faces at him. All of it just made her yearn for him to come home even more so now she knew she was pregnant.

"It's a good name, though he's not very golden." Jed said with a smile as he rubbed her arm in a comforting manner. Kate gave a watery laugh before she wiped the tears from her face. She took a deep inhale and nodded as she schooled her emotions. She looked down at the puppy that was still sniffing around their feet and trying to get their attention.

"He doesn't have to be. though he's totally screwed with me." Kate told him.

"Why?" Jed asked with a laugh.

"I know nothing about owning a dog. What do puppies even eat?" Kate asked.

"I got you some supplies. should tide you over for a week and there are instructions on the side of the bags. He's already had a couple of feeds and he came with a water bowl. So he's all good." Jed told her, Kate smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're the best." she told him.

* * *

"They are subverting our government." Michener said as he slapped another file down on the table and sat down with a huff. He was exhausted, he thought being the president would be hard but it was like every time he tried to fulfill a promise to the people, Kate was ahead of them. He already had his suspicions that Kara was feeding the woman information but Kara had signed a confidentiality agreement and passed a polygraph test when they had to a leak of information a couple of months ago. She'd passed it and frankly as intelligent Kara was she had no ability lie flat out.

"Lassiter Industries is the only reason we were able to repair the Nathan James quickly and have factories manufacture the cure. They are footing the bill for the Military costs and paying their employees better wages than they had before the pandemic. They are basing their payscale off of the Australian Ombudsman and -" Kara started to explain but Michener cut her off.

"Exactly, they are setting a standard we can't match in the rest of society. I'm handing out ration stamps and withholding everything back while she's giving her employees purpose and a decent living wage. They are happy because they don't have to work 60 hour weeks and she's giving award rates for weekend workers." Michener said incredulously as these things were unheard of in America pre-pandemic.

"Those who don't have the luxury of being employed by her company want the same benefits that small and medium sized business owners can't provide." Allison said agreeing with Michener.

"Then cut back on the taxes." Kara said as if it were that simple. She liked what Kate was doing, she was employing people, giving them a better chance of pulling themselves out of the damage of the pandemic.

"If we do that how do we pay all the workers in this building? Let alone gain enough money to pay the back pay owed to all the military personnel and government workers that we borrowed from Lassiter Industries. A debt that's gaining interest daily? We all don't have the luxury of a spouse with a steady income." Allison told Kara as the woman was smart but she had no understanding of how a country ran.

"Print money instead of ration stamps." Kara said trying to find some sort of amicable solution. She was proud to call Kate a friend as she felt that while Kate's reasons for helping the population might be wrong, she was making a huge difference and making what she felt was a positive impact on society in general. Michener and the others just hated it as Kate had beaten them to the punch.

"We can't do that, it devalues our dollar in the international market." Allison told her, Kara frowned as she wondered why that was even relevant given it wasn't like holidaying overseas was on people's agendas.

"And if the world bank reopens we should vote for all of world debts wiped clean no matter who holds the markers. Including our own. Clean slate for the world." Alex of foreign affairs said as he came into the room.

"We've barely got enough international representatives to discuss that." Allison frowned as she didn't see why it was important. Alex slouched into his chair at the meeting table and looked at them with an expression of 'I told you so' disappointment.

"I just got off the phone with Sato; our Japanese delegate here in St Louis. Lassiter Industries procured our debt markers from Japan. So not only does she own 1/3rd of our debt to call in whenever she likes. She has the regents of the territories in America working with her to build America as she sees fit. So while we try to make changes she's three steps ahead fucking everything up for us and making us out to be the fools." Alex told them, he shook his head in annoyance as every time he tried to talk with his international counterparts he heard the name 'Lassiter' more than he did 'Michener'. It was frustrating.

"Where does she get the money for this?" Michener asked in disbelief, he knew she was rich but the debt was billions of dollars.

"The Banks refuse to disclose her net worth or anything pertaining to her accounts without a subpoena from a Federal Court." Allison said, showing how their want to revive the old ways of government worked against them as they didn't have a Federal Court in service yet and even if they did, it would look like the President vs Kate not great PR where as right now it looked like Lassiter Industries was more organised and fast acting than they were. It wasn't great but it was better to look slow working than petty and malicious.

"You're friends with her. Did she talk to you about this?" Michener asked Kara.

"No, we talk about growing herbs, recipes and babies." Kara told him, which was true, she and Kate never spoke about her work in specifics. So Kara had no clue how Kate was ahead of Michener. She was just glad someone was doing something as Michener refused to compromise on his principles to get the job done.

If it wasn't for Kate; she and Frankie would have been waiting for housing living in a crappy studio apartment but now she and Danny owned a house thanks to Lassiter Industries giving the crew of the Nathan James bonuses and agreeing to be a guarantor for loans but only for property purchases if the crew applied for them. She'd made some deal with the banks for low interest rate loans, so the repayments were feasible for even an enlisted officer to purchase a small bungalow or apartment in a nice neighborhood. The only real catch in the paperwork was if the person missed three repayments in a row they their property was forfeited to Lassiter Industries.

It didn't worry Kara and Danny all that much as the repayments didn't drain them, and property prices were low even in the neighborhood they bought into. So they knew in less than a decade, the house would be theirs outright. It felt great to know that. To have that security, to have a home to go to that was theirs something that never would have happened without Kate's company as her bonuses for the crew and the fact that Lassiter industries was paying half of the current wages for the sailors also helped given the government was broke. The crew of the Nathan James were still waiting for back pay for the Arctic mission. If it wasn't for what Lassiter Industries gave them, they'd be in the same dire situation as the rest of the civilians.

"Yet she has Anna Hatake; her long time bestie helping her." Allison said as she was still a little ego sore from meeting with Anna.

"I cannot keep being undermined like this. Can't we deport them?" Michener asked. Kara held a neutral expression but inwardly she counted to ten to remain calm. Though what she really wanted to do was smack Michener in the face and remind him of all the good Kate had done.

"No, I spoke with Miss Hatake this morning and made the same thinly veiled threat. Obviously I didn't realise they were buying our debt, we deport them they'll call in the markers, they'll not only shut down all of their businesses, they'll export all of their vital employees to Australia. Then our economy will tank. We'll be destroyed and the people will revolt." Allison said painting a not so pretty picture.

"How did this happen?" Michener asked in disbelief.

"You told the world that she was alive and forced her to take her place at the head of the company just as you did with the other three. They wanted anonymity and you took that away for some media pap. But unlike Mrs Green and Dr Scott, Hatake and Lassiter are biting back. They will cripple us not just domestically but internationally." Alex said.

"You're proud of them." Michener said looking to Kara who gave a nod.

"They have employed thousands of Americans, provided affordable housing, easily accessible medical and child care. A living wage that even taxed is enough with the assistance of your ration stamps. So yeah, I am proud to call of them because no one asked them to help us. The reason why people out there respect them more than you Mr President; is that even when our court system tore Lassiter's life to shreds in front of the media she could of retaliated for your lack of support. Instead she just kept working to help better the nation and help us proliferate the cure." Kara said, she felt it was admirable and she was proud of Kate even if she really wanted to wrap Kate up and keep her safe and warm from the pains of the real world.

"I couldn't openly support her during that time." Michener said making excuses.

"You didn't support her at all. Also in their defence, Lassiter and Slattery did everything by the letter of law. The Slattery's first marriage was dissolved before he tied the knot the second time round." Kara said, the crew of the Nathan James and anyone who spent more time on the Nathan James than Michener were family to them. So she felt protective of them all.

"Mrs Slattery had the media in the palm of her hands and without Captain Slattery home to speak for himself people were more willing to listen to the broken-hearted mother trying to get back her family over the Widow of a large corporation who wooed a married man and took in his kids to make up for her own loss. I remember the headlines." Michener said, Kara felt like reminding him that Tom had no issues showing his support for Kate and he was the CNO and highly respected by society.

"Yeah, well it's too late to support her now." Allison told him,

"We should bring her in for a talk." Michener said.

"Tried that; her secretary told me that Lassiter is completely booked and Hatake is a cutthroat. I highly doubt Lassiter would be anymore amenable to finding some solution where she works with us." Allison told him.

"Kara could talk to her." Michener said.

"With respect, I'm not using my friendship with Kate to help you. You need to this for yourself, Sir." Kara told him, luckily her phone beeped and she looked down at the message and before Michener could talk to her she excused herself from the table and left the room.

* * *

"Hey." Kate whispered to Rachel as she came into the room quietly. Rachel looked up from the bed where she had to twins laying on bed while she sat up.

"Hello, come in." Rachel said.

"How are you and my goddaughters?" Kate asked her with a smile as she moved to the bed and sat down looking at the twins. They were awake and looking around the place while flexing their arms and fingers. Kate placed her index fingers in each of the girl's hands enjoying how their tiny little fingers latched on. Both were dressed in cute onsies one in purple and the other pink.

They were identical twins but there was some differences, Olivia had the same mole under her right eye as Rachel while Evelyn didn't. Evelyn sported two different eye colours of hazel and blue. Something they guessed came from their biological father while Olivia had blue eyes. Kate and Rachel had tried to find the father in Lassiter Industries personnel files but nothing had sprung up. It wasn't like they needed to find him as they knew he was dead but Rachel wanted to know his family medical history for the twins.

"We're just fine. I was about to bring them out for a change of scenery." Rachel said to Kate, she looked up at her friend. She couldn't help but notice her pallor and the dark circles under her eyes. The doctor side of her was trying to think about what it could be.

"Sounds good, let me help." Kate said as she went to pick up Evelyn (or Evie as everyone had fallen into calling her) into her arms.

"Why do you always go for Evie?" Rachel asked Kate, not that she minded but she had noticed a pattern.

"She hasn't vomit on me yet." Kate told her as she placed Evie on her shoulder, making sure the baby girl could see her mother and twin.

"It was only twice." Rachel said with an amused smile as she lifted her other daughter off the bed and walked out of the bedroom to the living room. It was a large room that got partial morning sun, so it was lovely to be in as it was bright and sunny room with it's mustard yellow walls and white architraves and ceiling with polished wooden floorboards. It had a dark grey 4 seater lounge and single chairs as well as a flat screen TV. The previous owners had exceptional taste in decor and furnishing so Tom and Rachel hadn't had to do or change much. They did repaint Sammy and Ashley's rooms to give them a sense of ownership to the house and their room. Then there was the nursery, they also did that up but that was more for fun than necessity.

"Yeah, I know but it was two times in a row. Not that I care but I feel my clothing is safer with Evie at the moment." Kate told her teasingly as she followed. Rachel laughed as she knew how it felt as she had her share of baby spit up in the past few weeks. The twins were good eaters, but even so their muscle control had to play catch up.

"Fair enough, though Olivia will start to feel neglected." Rachel said as she sat down on the lounge with Olivia in her arms. She didn't know why but she addicted to her babies. She could just hold them and look at them all day. She knew it was biology but it didn't mean it made her rational about it.

"So, I have something for you." Kate told her, she gently laid Evie onto her back on the lounge and propped pillows and a blanket around Evie like a small fortress. Rachel felt like assuring Kate that Evie was safe as she before she moved to the door where her bag was.

"What?" Rachel asked as she watched Kate pull out a laptop. She came back to the lounge and sat down placing the laptop on the desk.

"Well, some movies and some work if you're interested. You'll get paid for it and you can totally turn it down. I know you want to enjoy being a mum but I just wanted to make the offer." Kate told her. Rachel gave a wry smile as she and Kate talked about her plans but it was a conversation between friends. Rachel had decided that she wanted to be a stay at home mum for a year before finding part time work something she knew would be easy for her given she was famous for creating a cure.

"You don't need to give me a job. I'd work for free given I've seen what an Avocet lab looks like." Rachel said, Avocet labs when they weren't run down or used for evil was like a scientist's wet dream. It was Kate's turn to smile.

"Well, it more work from home stuff than going into the labs. Plus you wouldn't like where the labs are located." Kate told her.

"Where are the labs?" Rachel asked.

"Japan." Kate told her, Rachel blinked as she hadn't expected that response.

"Yes, that's too long of a commute even for me." Rachel replied.

"Yeah, I figured, so I need you to be chill about this next part. Maybe put Olivia down given it's not great news." Kate warned her, she had been tossing and turning on whether to tell Rachel but decided it was best she knew the truth then found out later on the news if it eventuated to that.

"Ok." Rachel said laying Olivia down next to her sister on the lounge. Kate looked at her for a moment as she ordered her thoughts in her head on what she was going to say and then spoke.

"It looks like the virus has mutated in the most southern regions of Kyushu and surrounding islands. The cure we've been dispatching isn't working. The Japanese government contacted Anna and I privately about it. So we've sent a plane carrying more of the cure directly to Fukuoka as we don't want to cross paths with the Navy. We also lab equipment and additional supplies to help them build a biohazard level 4 lab and for them to go out into the field to collect all the samples they can without being in danger. They have a team of scientists in place for us to liaise with via the Valkyrie Japanese government are fully cooperating with us doing all we can to figure this out." Kate told her.

Rachel took in the information Kate just threw at her. If she had been childless and without Tom and his family she'd tell Kate to organise a flight to go but she was different now. She also appreciated Kate sharing the information as it sounded like this wasn't something that cropped up just yesterday.

"Was it a faulty batch of the cure?" Rachel asked out of curiosity. Kate didn't looked offended by the question at all.

"We're investigating it from our side. They received their batch of the cure from Peng. So I have a feeling he might of switched out the real cure for a fake. But I can't prove it until the lab is set up in Japan and they test it. But I'm also not ruling out foul play on end either." Kate told her.

"Ok, so what can I do?" Rachel asked her.

"Well, I figure it'd be best to keep you in the loop, you can confer with their scientists if you like or just read what they are up to. An extra pair of eyes doesn't hurt on these things especially given how well you know this virus and you created the cure. You might see something that the others don't. But it's totally optional and you don't have to put in a lot of hours either. Anna and Val will be monitoring it daily so if something big turns up they'll let you know. So what do you think?" Kate asked her.

Rachel thought about it. She hadn't really wanted to go back to work but the way Kate spoke, it sounded like a somewhat easy job. She wasn't primary but just a third party monitoring the work. She didn't have to leave the twins and she could look at the scientists research every now and then. She had to admit she was shocked the cure wasn't working as she couldn't believe the virus mutated give Neils' gene had stabilised it making it so lethal.

"I want to do it. I actually appreciate you letting me know as I've kind of been kept out of the loop since I took the past two months off to have the babies. It would be good to keep my toes in the pool so to speak." Rachel told her in all honesty, she liked the idea of staying on top of what was going on.

"Look, I don't know if Tom or Michener know about this yet. So you can tell him about it. But I'm keeping the location of the lab off the servers and he can't tell Michener. His office isn't secure." Kate warned her.

"I have no problem with this staying in the family so to speak. So how are you?" Rachel asked changing the topic as she had to admit she liked the idea of working from home. She loved her girls but she did want a little intellectual and scientific stimulation.

"I'm ok." Kate said, Rachel quirked an eyebrow and Kate caved. "I'm anaemic and pregnant." Kate confessed as casually as she could. Rachel looked a little gobsmacked at the news which surprised Kate as she figured Rachel knew all along and was waiting for Kate to tell her.

"Wow." Rachel said surprised, as she had not expected Kate to be so calm about it.

"I also have a puppy named Scout." Kate added.

"I heard Jed with him earlier. Can we go back to the part about you being pregnant?" Rachel asked.

"12 weeks or so. I had a blood test, no ultrasound yet." Kate told her, she took a deep inhale and exhale as much as she wanted to overjoyed about the news part of her remembered that Mike was coming home to a broken mess. "I'm not sure how Mike will take it when he finds out about all the other stuff." Kate told her.

"I think he will be elated." Rachel said to her as she felt it in her bones that he would be. But she knew Kate's concerns.

"He didn't want more kids and then he kind of changed his mind. We said we'd discuss it but we never got around to the conversation with everything else that came up. Now he's back to be married to his first wife and she has custody of the kids. I lost the home and now I'm pregnant. As soon as the media figures it out, I'll be fodder for the masses again." Kate said ruefully.

"You lost the court case but Mike will understand and he'll sort everything was horrible but none of it was your fault and you're doing the best you can. He'll appreciate all of it." Rachel assured her as the front door opened and Jed walked in. She immediately saw a small ball of black fur scatter into the house.

"Ladies." Jed said in greeting.

"Jed, I take it this is Scout?" Rachel asked as the puppy was running around the room investigating and sniffing everything. The dog heard her voice and changed directions and slipped on the floorboards for a second before he ran straight for her.

"Yep, hope I'm not interrupting." Jed said as Rachel leaned over to pet Scout who was wagging his tail excitedly and jumping up on her legs. She smiled at his exuberance as she scratched him behind the earning herself some little licks on her hand.

"I was just sharing some news with Rachel." Kate told Jed, she wished Mike were home as she wanted to tell him first but she had no clue how long he'd be gone as he was already overdue on coming home. She felt after telling Rachel that she didn't want to hide her pregnancy.

"Good news I hope." Jed said as he leaned on the back of the lounge and looked at them.

"I'm pregnant." Kate told him, Jed smiled at the news.

"Congratulations!" he said with genuine joy that was infectious. "When you due?" he asked.

"I haven't had a ultrasound yet to find that out. But when I do I'll let you know." Kate told him.

* * *

"Good morning, Sir." Kara said as she caught Tom in the hallway. She was glad to escape Michener's office and get back to her work. One of them was catching up with him.

"Mrs. Green, how are things?" Tom asked her, she smiled as she really loved being married. She hated Danny being gone but she had slipped into her job and being a mother with such ease it felt like she was made for this life. It was just a shame she was serving Michener.

"Actually hit a little traffic coming in today." She confessed as they walked down the hallway of the old courthouse together.

"That's a good sign." Tom said though he had to wonder what time she started, as CNO he had the luxury of making his own hours as it was give it take. Some days he wouldn't be able to leave when he wanted and he was on call all the time but other than that he chose the hours he worked when there wasn't an emergency.

"I know, I took the liberty of picking up your new rations book." Kara said handed him the book. Tom stopped and opened the book. He looked down at the ration stamps and frowned in displeasure.

"Somehow, this just makes me want to use them all at once so I don't need to look at his face." Tom remarked in a low voice as he looked down at Michener's face on the ration stamps while the other side had the St Louis' Gateway Arch.

"I bet if Rachel's face was on them you'd want to save them all." Kara said in a smart ass fashion, Tom pursed his lips and looked to his Ex-Lieutenant. She gave him an innocent expression but he knew better.

"Sometimes I miss you being my subordinate." Tom told her wryly as now that she no longer wore a uniform she was free within reason to say whatever she liked. He just didn't like it when she said what he was thinking. Technically as CNO he did outrank her it wasn't the same as her being in the military.

"Yes, I miss those days too except for right now." Kara said with a smile as she knew she would have been in big trouble saying what she had. She also missed being out at sea and running CIC as TAO but being able to be with her baby was worth the sacrifice.

"What did I miss this morning?" Tom asked her as he flipped the book close and shoved it into his bag.

"You know you have a Secretary who can tell you all about what's happened." Kara said as she followed him down the hallway to Michener's offices.

"Yeah but he doesn't know any of the good intel." Tom told her.

"Michener is displeased with Kate." Kara remarked.

"Not anything new." Tom said.

"Apparently she bought 1/3 of America's debt from Japan." Kara said.

"Like we don't already owe her enough." Tom said with a chuckle as Michener brought it on himself as he wanted Kate to use her vast fortune to help America. He just didn't like how she was using it and owning her actions.

"I know I'm grateful for everything she's done for me and Danny." Kara said as they rounded into the office.

"President Peng is hoarding the cure, keeping it for the Chinese, and is now letting the virus mutate and burn itself across Japan and probably the rest of Asia." Alex said from his chair at the long table in the outer room to Michener's office.

"You don't know that for sure, Alex." Allison argued from across the table as Tom placed his briefcase in his chair and remained standing. It was a subconscious thing as he didn't want to join in on Alex and Allison bitching about Kate when they had enough on their schedules to do.

"Hatake confirmed it with you. You said she knew about Peng." Alex told her.

"She also said Lassiter Industries wouldn't back a war between China and America." Allison added.

"I don't want a war. I want to heal the world. Alex, how sure of this information about Peng and Lassiter procuring our debt?" Michener asked.

"My sources in the Japanese embassy told me as much, Lassiter took the debt as Okaeshi which I guess is trade." Alex said dismissively as he didn't care how it was dressed up. It was a disaster for them.

"Okaeshi is a Japanese custom. After receiving a gift, they send a thank you gift. She didn't take it, she accepted it." Tom told him trying to have confidence in the man's abilities but given his ignorance of the cultures he was dealing with didn't help.

"You're telling me the Japanese government gifted our debt to Lassiter?" Michener asked Tom incredulously.

"She must of sent one impressive gift the first time round." Tom remarked, he didn't know what Kate's end game was but she was good at ruffling Michener's feathers. The upside was that his job wasn't really affected by what she was doing as she assisted the Military instead of trying to dismantle them.

"She's probably in business with Peng, told him to hoard the cure so she could hold Japan over the barrel-"

"If that were true which I doubt, then why didn't Peng just take our debt markers from Japan for himself by trading the cure? I think she probably saw an opportunity and pounced on it. Nothing more." Tom argued, he thought it was smart as whatever she was doing was still helping people.

"Yet how would she know about Peng hoarding the cure?" Alex asked.

"It doesn't seem like much of a secret." Tom said, Alex threw his hands up and sat back in his chair that said he had no clue. "Did I hear you right? The virus has mutated?" Tom asked as he felt that was more important than talking about Kate.

"Captain, we're getting word from the southern islands of Japan that suggests the doses were ineffective against the virus. The death rate is skyrocketing." Allison said to him.

"Dr. Scott said the virus cannot mutate. She was very clear about that. We're gonna need some proof if we plan..." Tom started but Kara cut him off.

"Sir, we have two destroyers returning from Okinawa for Amur Bay. They can be on the ground right away." Kara said as Tom moved to one of the blackboards to look at their current progress with the distribution of the cure and where all their ships and planes currently were.

"We sent Peng 1 million doses two months ago. He just never delivered them to Japan. By the time our ships got there with the cure, it was too late."Alex told Tom who frowned at the information as he'd heard otherwise.

"You think Peng's making a play for Asia using the cure as leverage?" Tom asked them.

"That's exactly what I think. Listen, Peng is a thug, plain and simple. We've already had reports of the Chinese bombing North Vietnam." Alex said with confidence.

"Unconfirmed. Before we throw Peng overboard, let's remember that we don't have any alternative partner in the region. For now, Peng is our best hope." Allison told them all.

"Unfortunately, Allison's right." Michener said, Tom gave a nod and turned back to the board. A few seconds later Michener was at his side.

"Sir, Nathan James is one day from Vietnam. They're carrying enough cure to cover the coast to parts of Laos and Cambodia." Tom said to him a low voice.

"It was a good idea to send them," Michener told Tom.

China can be their next stop." Tom said, he knew Kate would not be happy at the delay of Mike coming home but she'd understand as it was curse of the Navy. Their work was never really finished.

"One ship can't get that cure across that continent. We need Peng, which is why I've arranged a summit in Hong Kong. Peng will be there, along with leaders from what's left of Asia." Michener told him,

"I think that's a good idea. V.P.'s in South America. Alex is the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. You sending him?" Tom asked, Michener motioned for him to follow him and they walked into his office.

"I'd like you to go." Michener told him in a low voice.

"Me?" Tom said in disbelief.

"Without a Secretary of Defense, you're the best choice. You can speak to the strategic importance of spreading the cure, the risks, the benefits, and, well, it doesn't hurt that you're an international celebrity." Michener added, Tom wanted to tell the man that he should go as he wanted to stay home with Rachel and his kids.

"My Chinese isn't what it used to be, and it used to be awful. I don't think I'm a good fit." Tom said being diplomatic.

"It'll only be a couple of days. I know that you want to be here given you have newborns but you have to agree this is more important." Michener told him.

"It's important but to me it's not to the same degree you feel. I'm needed at home." Tom told him in a firm tone. Michener gave him a look of patience and spoke.

"Look, I'm losing ground here in the US. I can't afford to look weak by running off the Hong Kong right now. Consider it an order from your President. I assume you still serve at my pleasure unless you're going to work for Lassiter like Val?" Michener said, it still made Michener sore that Val had jumped camps to work for Kate.

"Two days tops?" Tom asked him.

"Yes, put in a show and get out. We have an asset in-country that can help ease your path. But you need to make it clear that we mean business. If the virus has really mutated, we're looking at another pandemic. And with Dr Scott on maternity leave, we're basically without our best scientist. So you can let Peng know that if he won't be the kind of partner this world needs, we will find and support a leader inside his own country who will." Michener told him.

"Yes, Sir." Tom said begrudgingly.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Super happy everyone has come back :-) Thank you for the reviews and continue to ENJOY!_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

"It's two days." Tom said to Kate and his father. He'd hoped it was just Rachel and the twins but they had gone for a snooze. So he was talking with Kate and his father. It wasn't like Kate didn't know what was going on. Except this once he'd beaten her to the punch or so he thought as she already knew about the summit. She had been invited but declined.

"Michener is only sending you because he has no pull with them like you do." Kate commented before she took a sip of her tea before placing it back on the table.

"I wonder why he's got that problem?" Tom asked looking pointedly at Kate as it was her fault that Michener didn't have any real standing in the US or the world.

"I have no clue." Kate told him with a shrug not claiming any responsibility for her part. Tom smiled as he knew he should be pissed off at her but he couldn't begrudge her work.

"So did you get an invite to the Summit?" Tom asked, he knew it would be unorthodox for her to be there given she didn't represent a country but she did have the resources to back one.

"No, and if I was I wouldn't go because I'm pregnant." Kate told him in a casual tone. Tom blinked for a moment and realised that Jed already knew about this development as he sat at the dining table with Kate looking quite happy with the news.

"Wow. Are you- is everything-" Tom stammered as he was stunned and a little worried as to how she was going to continue her vendetta while she looked so ragged and run down. Now a baby on the way.

"Wow, you are so uncomfortable with this." Kate said with a chuckle. Not realising Tom's discomfort came from the fact that he'd let his best friend for the past 3 months believe everything was ok on the home front when it wasn't. "I'm ok, just anaemic which I'm working on fixing." she added to reassure him.

"Ok. It's good right?" Tom asked her referring to the pregnancy in general. He wanted to know if he too should be happy for her and Mike or be keeping his mouth shut. He felt relieved when Kate gave a soft smile and looked down at her tea for a moment.

"Yes, I don't know how Mike will feel as we said we'd discuss it and we never got around to the discussing part." Kate said.

"Just the doing." Jed commented from his chair, Kate blushed at the insinuation.

"Condoms aren't 100% effective. Shocking right?" Kate asked Jed, Tom choked on his coffee as there were topics he just didn't get into with his dad. Sex was one of them.

"I really don't like thinking about you and Mike like that." Tom said before he coughed clearing some of the coffee that had gone down his wind pipe. Over the past 5 months, he and Kate had developed a friendship, they weren't close but they did have a sibling dynamic of being a little snarky and sarcastic with one another but their days of arguing were long gone which was nice.

"Anyway, I'm taking two weeks off. Anna said she'd cover for me and I need the rest. Some time with Scout and I'm happy to pop by and hang with Rachel." Kate said as she stroked the back of the puppy sleeping in her lap.

"Thank you and I know Mike, he'll be happy about the baby. It's one baby right?" Tom asked cautiously, as he knew how pregnancy could be a strain and frankly he was a little worried about mood swings and well, it was Kate. She was unpredictable most of the time, he could only imagine what mischief she'd get into with her pregnancy running her hormones and emotions amok. It made him idly wonder if he should start wearing a cup around her.

"Geez, what is wrong with me having a kid?" Kate asked him with an amused smile. Not insulted in the least.

"Nothing, just messing with you." Tom half lied before he changed the topic. "Can I borrow Val?" he asked Kate.

"No, I need her here. She's still working at trying to crack that interference on our comms which is more important that you having lesbian arm candy." Kate told him, the interference on their comms was the reason they had their ships running on EMCON and using code language to communicate when they did break silence. They weren't sure what it was and it was best to be cautious and assume they were being listened to by a third party.

"I want her to act as a comms officer." Tom said so it wasn't like he was pulling her from her tasks per say but he wanted to have someone at his side who could provide him secure communications line to America.

"You got people for that. You just want Val because you like watching men hit on her and them being mortified by the rejection of a beautiful woman." Kate said calling him out on the second reason he wanted Val around.

Over the past 5 months, she had redeemed herself by joining Kate's side, in return Kate helped her legitimise Valkyrie Network as business entity. So Val owned her creation and earned a tidy profit to support herself, while she funded a huge chunk of the profit in charities and Lassiter Industries helping them create more jobs and helping rebuild the country.

"That's amusing too." Tom agreed as he remembered when he'd take Val out west to help distribute the cure and reestablish communications. The people had thrown a party and men just gravitated towards like moths to a flame.

"I can have Wolf meet you in Hong Kong. He's been there before and knows the lay of the land. There's also a satellite office so you can go there for safe harbour when you insult someone important." Kate said smugly.

"Nice, it's not really in my interests to insult anyone." Tom told her.

"Yes, but we all know diplomacy isn't your strong suit." Kate replied earning her a dark look from Tom even though she was partially right.

"I was told there is already an asset in country. Do you know who?" Tom asked her changing the topic.

"Yes, I know everyone on the planet and what they are doing." Kate deadpanned.

"Smart ass." Tom said with a wry smile as Kate knew something and surprisingly she didn't hold back.

"I don't have a dossier but her name is Sasha Cooper, I've spoken with her over the past few months. She's my middle man for Peng. She's a good soldier, I like to call her Lady Jaye." Kate told him with a smile.

"Lady Jaye?" Tom asked wryly.

"Like G.I. Joe." Kate said with a juvenile grin.

"I know the reference, so she's Army?" Tom said making a face just to stir Kate and his Dad up. Kate pursed her lips and gave him a patronising look.

"You know you can always transfer over to the dark side, so you can stop being so envious of Army and how more awesome they are than the Navy." Kate told him in a tongue and cheek manner.

"Then I couldn't be CNO and there aren't a lot soldiers out there." Tom told her, reminding her that Army was the first branch of the military to be destroyed by the pandemic given they were on the front lines when Marshall law had been put in place.

"Hence, the US Army will probably overlook you being Navy as they just have to build on what's there to make you an exceptional soldier." Kate said in a tongue and cheek manner. "But let's not get into that as it's time for me to head home with my pup. So I won't see you before you go but take care out there." Kate said as she rose from her chair carrying the puppy with both arms.

"I'll drive you home." Jed said before Tom could make the offer as he hadn't seen Kate's car in the street.

"Thank you Jed." Kate said to him before she looked to Tom.

"And if you contact Mike will you tell him 'Lima Yankee' for me." Kate told him.

"He's EMCON." Tom reminded her, that not even he would break communications to send off a love note for her. He wished he could tell his friend what was going on back home but he knew it would only distract Mike from the mission. Something as CNO he couldn't do but as a friend made him a real asshole for keeping Mike in the dark.

"I know but you never follow the rules." Kate pointed out before Tom could argue she continued "Oh and Miller's Mum is sending me a whole cow. So, I'm going to have give you guys half of it." She added.

"Seriously?" Tom asked as he meant about Miller's Mom sending them meat. Not Kate sharing it as she always made sure that the people close to her had enough food. It made having Ration stamps redundant as Kate had her own channels to get food. But he appreciated the gesture but Miller's Mom tended to send everyone who was from the Nathan James bar Michener; the best cuts of meat. She also sent care packages of harvested vegetables and some pickled goods. It wasn't a regular thing but it was a generous gesture for which he knew Kate was compensating the woman and her people for.

"Yep, I need to eat more red meat. But I can't eat a whole cow before it goes to waste." Kate told him.

"Thank you, and you take care of yourself." Tom said.

"Aye, aye Mon Capitan." Kate told him with a mock salute before she and Jed headed out the door.

* * *

"Captain's on the bridge." Lt Alisha Granderson called out when Mike entered the room. Mike couldn't help but feel a zing of pleasure at knowing he was the Captain. Sure he missed Kate and his kids terribly but this was one of his life long dreams come true. He just wished he could talk to Kate about it but they were at EMCON as they made their way to Vietnam. After Vietnam it was home time, he couldn't wait to get home to his girls.

"Master Chief, how we looking?" Mike asked Jeter as he moved to the CO chair. It had taken some time to get adjusted to the change in the view but also learning to own it. He spent so many years with Tom that he'd felt it was more his friend's place than his own. But after two months he finally felt comfortable sitting in it, as well as being at the top of the command chain on the ship.

"All squared away, sir. Wind's light out of the southwest. Probably an easy 9-iron to the green." Jeter informed him. Mike chuckled as he took his chair and pulled out a cigar. He never lit it as it was against regs to smoke inside the ship, that he'd decided to quit but he just liked to hold it in his fingers.

"Outstanding." he said to Jeter, he leaned back into his chair and looked to his X.O. Commander Garnett who smiled but shook her head in disapproval of the cigar. "OOD, bring us around 2-7-0, please." Mike said to Granderson.

"Helmsman, steady course 2-7-0." Granderson said calling out the course change.

"Right standard rudder, steady course 2-7-0. Aye." the helmsman called out and the ship slowly corrected it's course. Mike saw Garnet's frown. "I want to watch the sunrise." he told her.

* * *

"You're going away?" Ashley asked Tom double checking that she heard her father correctly. It wasn't like he didn't go away on short trips but most of them were only for a day. But they had been in here in the States never overseas.

"Just for a couple of days." Tom said as they were all at the dinner table. He'd just announced that he was leaving for Hong Kong. Jed and Rachel already knew but Sammy and Ashley were the last to be told. He explained about the summit and that the President needed him to go but if he had his choice he'd stay at home with them.

"Why can't the President go?" Sammy asked him, once again they'd hit rough patch. As Tom could see Sammy was not happy.

"Because he has a lot of work to do here that he can't take time away. Trust me, I don't want to go." Tom told him.

"Can't you just quit?" Sammy demanded than asked.

"Sammy, this is my job." Tom said patiently.

"But it always comes before us and you promised you'd be at my soccer game on Saturday. Now you're leaving again." Sammy said bitterly. Tom really wanted to remind his son that he'd been home for months and while he'd taken day trips. He hadn't missed much in Sammy's life these past months to deserve the attitude he was getting now for a two day trip.

"I will be back in time." Tom assured him but he'd made such promises in the past and hadn't kept them.

"Yeah right." Sammy muttered. "May I be excused?" he asked politely.

"Sure." Tom replied as he knew there was nonsense in trying to get through to Sammy when he was in a mood. Sammy picked up his empty plate and placed it in the kitchen sink before he raced off to his room.

"Don't worry Daddy, I understand." Ashley said, she didn't like it anymore than Sammy but she was older and was used to her father's absence and knew his work was important.

"Thank you Ashley." Tom said appreciating his daughter's support even if it was more out her being a peacekeeper than showing her real feelings.

"I think it's time for dessert. Ice cream?" Rachel offered as she felt the mood needed to be lifted at the table.

"Yes, please." Ashley said with a smile. Tom smiled and nodded as he rose from the table clearing away the dirty dishes.

"I think we still have some caramel sauce." Jed said as he got up to help Tom and to stop Rachel from overexerting herself.

* * *

"You're a good puppy Scout. Yes you are!" Kate said as she congratulated Scout on doing his business on the grass of the backyard than in the house. The puppy gave a happy yelp as pranced around on the ground enjoying her happy feedback.

Jed had really gone above and beyond for her and Scout as he'd bought her all the things she needed to keep Scout fed, watered and comfy. She just hoped she could train and keep the dog happy. So far he was fairly easy to get along with and they only had one toilet disaster in the house. So it was lucky they had hardwood floors as it made for an easy clean up.

"Dinner is ready." Ravit said to Kate as she stood at the open veranda door. Kate gave a nod and gripped the railing and used it pull herself to her feet. Ravit was at her side in an instant seeing her struggle and helped her.

"Thank you." Kate told her.

"Tell me you're going to stay home tomorrow." Ravit said with concerned expression. Ever since the woman returned from her trip, she'd become very overprotective of those around her. It was her incessant bugging that made Kate go to the doctor's to begin with.

Kate didn't mind Ravit's mothering or her cooking as it was delicious. In fact she was grateful because when Ravit came back to US it had been in the middle of her mess with Christina. Ravit had moved in Kate at her new house when she had to leave her home to Christina and the kids. Ravit was pretty much a life saver even when Kate told her she should be off working an operator using her training and skills; she politely declined wanted to stay with her and help everyone in their group.

Kate had a feeling that Ravit found healing from her grief easier when she was living a less violent lifestyle. Kate knew she had found a sense of peace when it was her with the kids, Mike and Lena. She only got to see the kids on the weekend with Lena around but it wasn't enough she wanted to be in their lives full time.

"I am, I might go to Rachel's for a bit but I'm taking the rest of the week off." Kate told her as they walked into the living room. Kate sat down on the lounge enjoying the sensation as the cushions propped her up and eased the aches in her exhausted body.

"Good, now I cooked chicken shawarma and made my grandmother's favourite salad that you like so much." Ravit said as she handed Kate a loaded up bowl of food with a fork in it. All of dinner was set up on the coffee table including drinks and a cake for dessert.

"Yum, I hope you never move out." Kate told her, she knew once Ravit spoke with Burk and the two reconnected things would be different. The two would become a couple and find their own place. But just like Kate; Ravit was stuck in limbo.

"Well, I figure if I stay here long enough I can claim squatter's rights and take your house when you move back in with the Commander." Ravit replied in a teasing manner.

"It's all yours." Kate told her with a chuckle.

"Good, though you can take the puppy. I'm more of Belgian Malinios fan." Ravit said as she looked to Scout who was roaming the room. He could smell the food but couldn't find the source. Yet. It would only be a matter of time before the puppy looked to them with begging eyes for a taste of what they were eating.

"Working dog, have you thought about your next move career wise?" Kate asked Ravit, it had been a month since Kate asked her, as Ravit knew she couldn't apply for the American Military due to her being a former Israeli soldier and while Tom was willing to overlook that, it did mean that Ravit would have to become an American citizen and renounce all ties to Israel. Something Kate knew Ravit wasn't ready to do.

"Housekeeping and babysitting keeps me busy." Ravit said, she had to admit she liked the quiet nature of being a civilian even if it was a little stressful not having a routine and frankly she had to relearn a lot of things about being a civilian but she enjoyed taking care of Kate, helping Rachel and Kara with their babies. Something about holding babies just made her happy and being just in awe of such life and innocence melted away the pain of losing her own family. It salved the angry injustice she felt about the world not being at peace after such a tragedy.

"I heard rumours that you could become a trainer,Krav Maga is a popular self defence training system and you got other skills that are worth teaching to the future sailors and soldiers." Kate told her.

"I had an offer, but I'm really happy just being here for now. I like purpose I have here with all of you. I don't feel as dispensable." Ravit told her honestly.

"You're definitely indispensable to me but never be afraid to kick my ass around here when you need to. I never want you to feel taken for granted, Ok?" Kate said before she ate a bite of her dinner. She really loved Ravit's cooking and the recipe book she brought back from her travels as everything she cooked from it was amazing.

"You've given me shelter and food without asking for anything in return. So trust me when I say I'm grateful to be here." Ravit said with a shrug as Kate was the one supporting them by paying for everything.

"Ha, you're the one who makes it into something amazing. This is really good, thank you." Kate told her.

* * *

"I don't want you to go. I'm too used to sleeping with you." Rachel told him as she snuggled up against him in bed. She'd just fed the babies with Tom's help as he was burping and diaper duty. Their system worked and she really loved how he was with the girls. How so very careful and loving he was with them, how patient she was with her as she was still a bit of a hormonal mess.

"Neither do I but I have to go. There's something else I need to tell you." Tom told her as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer to him.

"What?" Rachel asked him. Taking a deep inhale enjoying the scent of his skin as he would be gone for the next two days. She knew she and the babies would be ok but they would miss him just as much as the rest of the family.

"Apparently the virus in mutating in Japan." Tom told her.

"Kate told me. Lassiter Industries is investigating quietly. She's giving me access to their research and whatever they find. Kate thinks that the cure they received was a faulty or counterfeit batch." Rachel told him.

"You're going back to the labs?" He asked as Rachel sounded like she was fairly well informed, He felt Rachel shake her head.

"No, I'm working from home on a laptop connected to secure server. I have a very passive role, more an observer. Kate just wanted to keep me in the loop. There isn't anything to look at, at the moment and Kate said I can put in whatever hours I like. So I took the offer." Rachel told him carefully as she half expected him to say it was a bad idea.

"I'm glad." Tom said after a moment.

"You are?" Rachel asked surprised that he wasn't telling her to stay out of it and focus on the girls. They'd already discussed how she wanted to return to work but that was in a year's time but now she was taking on some side work, though she did like that she had control over the hours and didn't have to leave home at all.

"Yeah, you worked so hard to get the primordial strain and to make the vaccine. I think you're entitled to know what's happening." Tom told her. Rachel lifted her head up and looked down at him.

"You're not going to tell that I should focus on the girls?" Rachel asked, Tom lifted a hand and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"You're one of the most intelligent and efficient people I know. So why would I worry? We also have help with them and I think it's important for you to do what you want as well." Tom told her.

"I love you." Rachel told him before she leaned down and kissed him passionately.

* * *

South China Sea, on the Nathan James.

"Sir, you've got an incoming over Navy Red." Granderson told him. Mike picked up the red telephone from the dashboard in front of him.

"This is Nathan James actual. Over." Mike said into the phone as he looked to the horizon. It was mid afternoon which meant it was about 5am Tom's time. He was the only person who used the Red line for Comms, which didn't bode well unless Tom just wanted to have a chat and check in. Something he did a lot in the early days of Mike's Captaincy. It got the point Mike had to politely remind Tom that EMCON was being used for a reason.

"Captain, this is your Chief of Naval Operations. How's my ship?" Tom said, his voice crackling with static but otherwise the man was sounding cheerful. Mike knew everything was fine by Tom's tone which meant this was just a chit-chat.

"Some would say she's never been better," Mike told him in a smarmy manner as he really liked the fact he can rub in the fact that he finally had his first command. "Although I'm still getting used to running the ship from the starboard side of the bridge." he added a little wryly.

"Look to the right and there's nobody there, you know it's all up to you." Tom told him. Mike looked over to the XO chair that was currently empty, it only seemed to emphasise the point Tom was making.

"Yeah, I'm really beginning to understand that." Mike replied as it wasn't the best advice to be given as it just pointed out the obvious.

"Speaking of, I have a message from home. Scout arrived safe and sound, Lima Yankee. I assume you know what that means." Tom told him, Mike smiled.

"Yeah, I do and I appreciate that. Hey, you're not calling from home." Mike said as he finally figured out what was strange about the call as the background noise filtering through the phone sounded like an air plane engine.

"Last-minute trip. I'm headed to your neck of the woods. Maybe when I'm done, I'll arrange a formal INSURV, see just how good our ship is looking." Tom told him. Mike chuckled as Tom never really handed the Nathan James into his care willingly. So he always claimed that it was 'their' ship like he would come back and claim his captaincy but Mike knew better.

"We'll have sideboys standing by." Mike told him as Tom deserved the welcome of a corridor lined with crew members saluting him.

"Oh, and, Mike, strange forces at work in your part of the world. Until I understand them myself, watch your six." Tom told him,

"Roger. Nathan James out." Mike said, he hung up the phone and smiled again as he thought of Kate and the girls. He could just imagine them at home playing with the puppy. Zoe would be over exuberant while Maddy would take training the puppy very seriously. Whilst Kate played peacemaker between the two. His mother would of course fly down on the weekend and put in her two cents which would just confuse the puppy. He just wished he was there to see it all. But he would be home soon.

* * *

The following morning in St Louis,

"Hello Frankie, have you been good to your Mummio?" Kate cooed as she brought Frankie to her chest. The three month old babbled at her as she reached out and wrapped her tiny fingers in Kate's hair.

"Oh no Frankie, no hair pulling sweetie." Kara told her daughter as she quickly untangled her daughter's hand from Kate's hair and gave her a rattle that looked like a bunch of colourful plastic keys on a large ring to play with instead. Frankie grabbed onto it and shook in her hand smiling at the noise.

"Thanks." Kate said, "I forgot to tie my hair back." She added as she got comfortable with Frankie on the couch in Rachel and Tom's lounge room.

"No problem, she's really strong. I swear she nearly ripped my hair out the last time I had mine free. Which is why I've returned to my old hairstyle from my Navy days." Kara said with a chuckle as she sat down next to her. Every Thursday, she came over to Rachel and Tom's for play date.

It wasn't really a play date for Frankie but more for Kara as she hadn't made a lot friends in St Louis yet and while she tried mother's group, it hadn't suited her. The women had been incredibly judgemental of her parenting and the fact she was working nearly full time instead of being a stay at home Mom. Then there was the other part that she used to be in the Nathan James so they judged her for being a pregnant sailor. They judged her for marrying Danny without a huge white wedding day blowout but instead in a quick ceremony in a judge's room. It hadn't helped her at all as she had been suffering depression after giving birth to Frankie. It wasn't a constant state but something ebbed and flowed in her which made it so hard for her to admit that something was wrong.

Danny's absence only a week after giving birth had been hard on her, but she had thought being with other new mothers would help elevate her woes but it hadn't and her mother hadn't helped her either. She'd fallen off the wagon in a bad way as Danny's leaving made Deb feel like she was watching history repeat itself. Something she didn't want for her daughter and grandchild. So she had turned back to the bottle to cope, Kara tried not to judge her but she was hurt deeply by it because both people in her life voluntarily abandoned her.

Sure Danny leaving was for work, on good days she accepted it because she understood. She came from the same world, and thus was prepared for it. Bad days it was hard not to feel anger and despair but she could rationalise herself back to some sense as she knew it her depression talking not how she really truly felt. But Deb was different, she didn't a duty of care to her country to fulfil, she just fell back into old habits because she couldn't stand to watch Kara fall down the same path instead of seeing it the way it was. That Danny wasn't like Kara's father or any of the men Deb had dated. That he'd come back, he just had a job to do.

She was eternally grateful for Kate, Rachel and Ravit as the three women had come in and helped her without being intrusive or making Kara feel as though she was failure as a mother and person.

Kate had dealt with Kara's mother and what Kate told she'd gotten her mother into a rehab program but Deb hadn't seen it through, she instead reject the help and went back to Norfolk claiming that Kara would come crawling to her for help. In Deb's defence the alcohol made her mean, when she was sober she was an amazing kind and inspiring person. But Kara knew that it was up to Deb to get herself clean as she could no longer support her mother and look after herself and her baby.

It had been hard to have the mother she wanted disintegrate but she never once felt unsupported as the first three months she had people coming over to help her in the first few weeks. She was never alone but she also never felt like she was being crowded. The three women all made an effort to help her and she tried to do the same for them when she could. Having them was like having three amazing older sisters and an large extended family to help her and give her advice when she needed it.

She was thanks to them able to get treatment for her depression and while nowadays she still got a little down from time to time and second guessed if she was making the right choices but it felt like normal life woes instead of something to that dragged her down as it had been in the past. She felt it was that she had better coping mechanisms and a routine in place as well as strong support network.

Something Ravit, Kate and Rachel had given her without Kara ever having to be in a crisis first. They were better for her and Frankie than her ex-mother's group. Because what they lacked in not being new parents they made up in exuberance to learn and reassuring Kara that her parenting style was just fine. It was funny how hearing them comment on how happy Frankie was made Kara buoy with relief whenever she was in doubt. They didn't look down at her for wanting to be a working single mother either, they didn't sneer at her long hours she sometimes had to work. Instead they just helped her where they could and just supported her asking nothing in return.

"So how are you?" Kate asked Kara in a serious manner.

"Honestly? I'm doing ok, I just can't wait for Danny to come home though. He's going be shocked by how much Frankie's grown." Kara said, she felt sad that Danny was missing out on their daughter growing up and her milestones but at least she had videos and photos. It wasn't enough but it'd have to do.

"I think he'll be ecstatic to see you both so healthy and happy. That and the fact Frankie looks like you. She's a gorgeous baby." Kate told her with a smile.

"Yeah, she is." Kara said feeling light and happy as she looked at Frankie who was now sucking on the keys. She had Kara's dark hair and nose but her father's eyes and chin. "So how are you?" she asked Kate.

"I'm pregnant." Kate told her.

"Wow." Kara said surprised but then part of her really wasn't as Kate had looked ragged for a couple of months. First trimester tough and well, as much as Kara didn't want to know. She knew that the XO and Kate had been in their honeymoon phase since leaving the Nathan James when it made port in St Louis.

"Yeah, it's funny. I thought it would be harder to say but it just slips off the tongue. I just hate that I can't tell Mike. I would have preferred he knew first but can't break EMCON for a pregnancy announcement. But hey, when EMCON is lifted, it's like where do I start? Do I tell him how I'm pregnant or the whole storm with Christina? It's a real toss up on what he'll think is bad news. Maybe there'll be a scale." Kate said wryly as she resettled Frankie in her lap and looked to Kara. She knew from the books she read and being around Kara and Rachel she couldn't hide her pregnancy forever and she didn't want to be in denial about it.

"I hate that all of that happened. I wish Christina had just stayed away." Kara said as she really felt for Kate, she wished that there was something she could of done to help but then she hadn't been in the right mental space to help Kate. But at least Frankie had helped as Kate loved holding her daughter, she said to one time that holding babies reminded her that there was always a positive side to life. Frankly who couldn't smile at a happy baby.

"Yeah, me too. But in other news, I have a puppy." Kate said changing the topic with a topic as she didn't want to talk about Christina.

"I know, he's adorable." Kara said as the puppy was laying on the floor resting. He'd been overexcited by all the people paying attention to him earlier and meeting Frankie who just loved the puppy as he was a new sensation of noises and textures. It made Kara wish that they had Halsey but he was with Danny on the Nathan James and if she were honest she didn't have the time or energy to keep up with a baby, her job and Halsey.

"Tea and cake." Rachel said as she came into the room with Ravit following her.

"Where are the twins?" Kara asked her, as she was hoping to get a cuddle in with the twins.

"Asleep, but they'll wake up soon." Rachel assured Kara.

"They are adorable." Kara told her, as she just melted every time she saw them. She never thought of herself as a baby person but now she had Frankie, she just had a new appreciation for how small and amazing they were.

"Then you can change their diapers." Rachel told her in an amused tone as Ravit set down a tray with tea cups and a pot of tea as well as cake for their morning tea.

"Done." Kara said as she didn't mind in the least given Rachel had changed Frankie's diapers before so it was fair that she help when she could.

"I just told Kara my news of the impending birth of the Anti-Christ." Kate told Rachel in a mockingly serious manner.

"Stop saying that." Rachel told her as she sat down in one of the arm chairs.

"Tom looked worried, like the baby was going to eat it's way out of me and leave a bloody mess in your kitchen yesterday afternoon." Kate told Rachel, Kara and Ravit chuckled while Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Have you spoken with Anna?" Rachel asked Kate changing the topic as she

"Yeah, she dropped by for breakfast. She was ok with it." Kate said dismissively. Ravit made a derisive noise.

"By 'ok', she swore only about 6 times and told Kate not to show her face in the office for two weeks." Ravit told them as she started cutting the cake and Kara poured the tea.

"Well, Anna and I are under a lot of scrutiny these past months. It wouldn't look good if I passed out in the offices and Michener found out." Kate said looking to Kara with an amused look as it was her colleagues who were trying to put the screws to Lassiter Industries.

"Don't look at me. I'm a glorified secretary." Kara told her with a smile.

"You should work for me. I have great pay scale, health insurance, 401K and I allow for a flexible schedule. Car space, fancy business cards and snappy title of Military Liaison Officer." Kate told Kara, the young woman smiled as it wasn't the first time Kate had offered her a job.

"My job allows me to know where Danny is 24/7. I'm not ready to give up that access and I feel I could make some good out of my current job given some more time." Kara said because even though she couldn't talk to Danny, she did know where the ship was and it's current condition. So when a crisis did hit then she'd be right in the thick of it instead of being on the outside.

"Fair enough. I guess when the next administration steps in then you can work for them or cross over to the dark side." Kate said to her with a smug grin.

"Do you know something we don't?" Kara asked as she had to admit that Kate made it sound like Michener's time was coming to an end.

"Nope, but technically Michener is just finishing up the term of his predecessor. So there will be elections soon as I doubt the civilians like the idea of having a non-elected president forever. So he's only got what a couple month's left unless his Senates turns against him calling for an early election." Kate said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

It was late afternoon when they made it to their designated port in Vietnam. They'd been met by a tug boat that carried their pilot and a translator. The Nathan James hadn't required the tug boat to pull them in but they needed the pilot to help them navigate the waters given it was a mess of boats. It wouldn't look good for the Navy or Michener if Mike ran over a fisherman boats and dingy boats.

The pilot; Mr Binh was a feral looking fellow who from the smell of him hadn't showered or shaved in a while or changed his clothes as he was dressed in faded orange polo shirt, tan cargo pants and green hooded jacket. The translator; Ai however was better dressed in a clean suit with her hair pulled back from her face in a low bun. She looked far more civilised but they needed Mr Binh as he seemed to be in charge of the port.

"Mr. Binh says drop your speed to three knots and adjust your rudder five degrees right." Ai told Mike in a polite manner as she stood dutifully next to Mr Binh who looked out the front window with binoculars barking course changes in Vietnamese.

"OOD, drop to three knots. Turn starboard five degrees." Mike said, the order was echoed around the bridge as the crew went through the procedures and changed course as ordered.

"Water's crowded for people without the cure." Mike said to Ai. What he really wanted to say was the harbour looked like a disorganised mess and he was going be pissed off if the paint job on the ship was scratched up because these people didn't know how keep an organised port. But kept his mouth shut.

"In Vietnam, sailors, fishermen, and pirates always find a way to get the cure first."Ai explained to them, Mike wondered how the people on the boats in the port had access to the cure given the Nathan James and two other destroyers were the only ones with cure on board and none had reported being attacked.

"Pirate steal everything." Mr Binh said in broken English, before he made a noise that seemed to be a cross between a sneer and scoffing noise.

"Tell him to make sure we stay clear. Any of those local tin cans come close to us, we'll cut them in half with the laser." Mike said trying to inject some levity into the situation. Though he did wish he had a laser as that would be handy.

"Got it. Hold on." Burk said as he flipped through his language book. He gave a goofy smiled and looked to Ai "Oh. Laser." he said as he realised there was no word in Vietnamese for Laser. Burk made the sound effects of a laser that made Mike turn around and give him a weird look as the Lieutenant was not really being helpful or professional.

"Yes, I know." Ai said and the two blushed and giggled, it made Mike's eyes roll as he didn't know what the hell Burk was doing flirting with the translator when he had Ravit back home. Mr Binh started talking again in Vietnamese while Ai spoke over him translating for them.

"Oh, Mr. Binh wants to remind you of the big celebration tonight. The Vietnamese government wishes to thank you and honor you. Nathan James! Governor will be there to meet the famous crew of Nathan James."Ai told them, the woman hadn't stopped smiling since she came on board. In fact everyone they encountered in the region were incredibly friendly and desperate for the cure. Something Mike preferred over Hostile and desperate.

"Well, you tell him thank you. As soon as we unload the cure, get it where it needs to go, we'll be there with bells on." Mike told Ai and Mr Binh as he didn't want to be rude even if he'd prefer they dump the cure on the dock and start making their voyage home immediately.

Ai turned to Mr Binh and relayed the information only to stop and say "With bells on." another idiom that couldn't translated given there were a few Mike used only to have Ai repeat them in English. She gave a giggle and Mike just nodded before he turned his attention back out the front window of the bridge.

"I, uh, forget. How do you say your name?" Burk asked, Mike looked up to the ceiling for a moment begging a higher power to smack sense into the man. Mike had no clue why Burk was chatting up a Vietnam local he'd never see again when he had a woman like Ravit at home in the U.S. to actually have a decent relationship with. But he didn't pry, he just disapproved of Burk's lack of professionalism.

"Ai." Ai informed Burk.

"Ai. That's a beautiful name. You going to the party tonight?" Burk asked.

"With bells on." Ai said, Mr Binh turned around and said something in Vietnamese that made Ai click her tongue at him in disapproval.

"What did he say?" Burk asked.

"He said you should get down to the Helo bay. Make sure we're good to go when we make Port." Mike said to Burk as he was done with the Sweet Valley High romance blossoming on his bridge. The lieutenant looked mollified at less than subtle dress down and gave a nod leaving the bridge. Mike turned his attention back to front window of the bridge.

* * *

Early hours of the morning in St Louis,

"Oh I know, you miss your Daddy but it's just one more night and he'll be back." Rachel said to her daughter as she held and soothed a very irritable Olivia. It seemed after their first month in the real world with Tom soothing them back to sleep a habit was formed as both twins didn't seem to like her right now.

Sure they were happy to be fed but the breakdown was in when they weren't handed to their father as per usual but staying in their mother's arms before she juggled them both. She hated to admit that she had grown soft as she already missed Tom at night helping her.

She managed to get Evie back fed, changed and back to sleep with ease but Olivia was fussing, but then she was Daddy's girl. She just loved his voice and it made Rachel a little envious at first as Olivia would always look at him with wonder but she soon realised and well-remembered that it was not him particularly but how he spoke. Since Olivia was the same with Jed and Tex, it was their gruff but confident tones and the fact they didn't really speak softly. It certainly made her feel better about herself as she secretly wanted to have the same amount of attention if not more given how much time she spent with her girls. She wanted them to see her as Mum not 'All you can drink' Milk bar.

Rachel moved to the window and looked out. It was nearly dawn judging by the lightening of the sky. The view wasn't much as she just saw the side fence and into the Slattery property. The fence that ran between their properties was in dire need of repair as it was missing many panels. Jed and Tom had started to fix it but stopped when Christina moved in. She informed them that she was going to have a new fence installed and when she handed over the quote from the construction crew. Well they were currently in dispute over it, as Tom refused to pay for a brand new and taller fence between the properties when they could fix what was there for a fraction of the price.

It wasn't like they were struggling for money. It was the principle of not bowing to Christina's demands as they knew when Mike would be back and Christina would be gone. Frankly, Rachel liked having the huge gaps in the fence as it meant she was able to spy on the woman and the kids. More so Maddy and Zoe as she wanted to know they were ok. She knew they stayed the weekends with Lena and Kate but there were five days of the week they were stuck with Christina.

Rachel hated the woman, she was a superficial, foul mannered bitch. Well, at least to Rachel she was but Tom she was sweet as pie and flirting with him. Something made her see red, it was just lucky for Christina that she was always carrying one of her daughters.

If she were honest she was waiting for the day Zoe or Maddy ran through the fence to come to them for help. Something she knew would happen as Christina wasn't exactly the most caring mother she'd ever seen with the girls but then she had no idea what was going on in the house. But she never saw the girls playing outside, Maddy no longer went to her after school classes for a few weeks. She knew the house had been overhauled in the last three months. All of it made Rachel incredibly mad as it wasn't right.

A knock sounded at the door and Rachel moved away from the window. "Come in" she said, the door opened and Rachel felt incredibly guilty as a sleepy eyed Ashley stood in the door way.

"Hi." Ashley said.

"I'm so sorry that Olivia woke you up." Rachel told her.

"It's ok. Is she sick?" Ashley asked concerned.

"Just cranky your father isn't here to soothe her to tuck her in to bed at night." Rachel said, it made Ashley smile.

"Just like Sammy." Ashley commented as she hung onto the door frame.

"That's right," Rachel said in agreement as she had made a pact to always be honest with Sammy and Ashley. It worked favourably for her but then there wasn't anything that needed to covered up. "Come in and lay on the bed. You might be able to fall back to sleep." she told her.

"Ok, though I doubt it." Ashley said as she walked over to the bed and climbed in on Tom's side but sat up leaning against the back of the bed board. "Do you really think he'll just be gone for a couple of days?" she asked.

"I'm sure he will as long as nothing else comes up." Rachel assured her as she moved to her side of the bed and sat down with Olivia in her arms. Her daughter was fighting to stay awake but a full stomach and comforting massage was getting the better of her as her eyes started to droop.

"Something always does." Ashley said in annoyed tone which made Rachel smile wryly as Tom's work definitely took up a huge chunk of his time but he did make the effort to find a balance. "I wish he'd just stay home with us for like a year." Ashley told her.

"Me too, but he's very good at his job which helps a lot of people including us." Rachel reminded her, trying to be diplomatic and not take sides even if she was nearly ready to throw in the towel and complain. But her complaints were small and petty while Ashley's were serious.

"She's asleep." Ashley said changing the subject as she pointed to Olivia. Rachel looked down to the baby girl in her arms and smiled softly as her heart melted with love.

"Yes, she is. Would you like to hold her?" Rachel asked Ashley.

"I'll wake her up." Ashley said making a face but Rachel shook her head assuring her as she could see Ashley was eager to have a hold and was too nervous to ask. Tom and she hadn't really wanted to push the twins on the kids when they were born. Instead waiting for them to come around and show interest. But she could see Ashley wanted to have a hold which was why Rachel wasn't taking a 'no' from her.

"No, you won't. Here, just make sure you cradle her head supporting her neck." Rachel said as she gave Ashley instructions as she passed Olivia into the little girl's arms. "There. Perfect and she didn't even stir." Rachel said as it was true, Olivia was out like a light.

"She's so light." Ashley commented in awe.

"Yeah, but she'll gain weight. Here," Rachel pulled a pillow from bed and placed it under Ashley's arms and Olivia to help her arms from getting tired. "So your arms don't get tired, you know that your mother held you like this when you were young." Rachel said to her.

"Yeah, she said she liked me better when I was small cause I wasn't as noisy." Ashley said with a smile as she reminisced about her mother. Rachel smiled as she learned Darien had a rather dry sense of humour, she tried not to be envious of the woman but sometimes it was hard to hear stories about her but she had to accept that while Darien was gone her memory would remain which for Ashley and Sammy was a good thing.

"Well, now you know better given how noisy these two are." Rachel quipped.

* * *

Late afternoon, Lantau Island; Hong Kong.

Tom walked off the Hercules via the back ramp and smiled as Wolf was standing by a jeep only a few feet away. He had changed into his formal dress whites, though the hot humid air that hit him when he stepped off the plan made him wish he went with his summer whites. He'd forgotten how bad the summers were as he could swear he was eating the air then breathing it in. Tom walked over to the man who was dressed in a grey business suit and black shirt, even the Australian was sweating in the heat.

"Wolf." Tom said greeting the man, Wolf closed the distance and took the hand Tom offered and shook it. They hadn't seen one another in over 4 months when Wolf had gone home to Australia to find his family with Ravit. Ravit had returned to the US but Wolf had stayed to work in the region.

"Sir, good to see you." Wolf said as he released his hand and they walked back to the jeep.

"You too, though I figured Peng would send me an escort to take me to the main house or someone from the US embassy." Tom told him, as Kate hadn't really been specific about where Wolf had been and Michener had said he'd be greeted upon his arrival.

"Yeah, Kate stuck her nose in and made sure I gave you a lift from the airport to your fancy soiree." Wolf said with a smile. Tom threw his duffel bag into the back of the jeep and moved to the passenger seat while Wolf jumped into the driver's side.

"How many noses did she bend out of shape?" Tom asked.

"None, Peng likes Redheads; so Kate's gold in his books and the US embassy is a bit of a joke in these parts. So consider Lassiter Industries at your disposal during your stay." Wolf told him in a jovial manner.

"So what can I expect here?" Tom asked him, deciding not to question it further as he appreciated Wolf being with him. He preferred a familiar face than a stranger. He just wondered how much of his dossiers on the region that he got from Michener's officer was good intelligence.

"You can expect eyes on you from now on. Nothing here goes unnoticed President Peng and the MSS." Wolf told him as he turned the ignition key and started the jeep.

* * *

Kate woke up to Scout whining loudly and covered her face with her hands as it was so early in the morning. But she couldn't let it continue as it was pulling at her heart strings. She got out of bed and pulled a sweater over her PJ's and moved to the bed that she'd put in the ensuite bathroom for Scout. She could see him at the kiddy gate she put on the door to stop him from escaping.

She knelt down and placed her hand through the bars and scratched the puppy's head. His whining quietened some as he became excited at her acknowledging his presence and licked her hand.

"Ok, Scout. Let's go." Kate told him, She extracted her hand from bars and reached over the gate picking him up. He squirmed around in her arms as she carried him down the stairs to the back veranda and opened the door. She placed Scout on his feet. He took off for the grass and Kate watched him as he did his business and raced back to her.

"Great job, Scout." Kate told him enthusiastically, she gave a chuckle as she was congratulating an animal for going to the bathroom. The puppy gave a happy bark and nudged her leg wanting more attention which she obliged with a smile on her face.

"I can't wait for the girls to meet you, just one more days and you'll be overloaded with fun and attention. But Mike however will not like these 4am bathroom breaks when he returns. So let's not make this into a habit." She told Scout, but of course he was a puppy and his grasp of English was non existent so he just gave a bark and licked her hand.

* * *

Late afternoon in Hong Kong,

Wolf pulled up the long driveway of huge sprawling British Colonial style mansion. It was immaculately kept and guarded as Tom counted more soldiers than they had protecting their own president. Wolf had given him the low down on the situation in Hong Kong and how Lassiter Industries only held the offices on Hong Kong Island as well as some apartments over on Kowloon side for it's employees.

Apparently Kate's company didn't do much of anything but use the hub as way to communicate with it's European counterparts. She didn't have any current trade agreements with Peng and he hadn't reached out to Kate yet. Something Tom found interesting as everyone wanted to have Kate in their back pocket. But apparently there were dicey negotiations happening between Peng and Australia that Kate was trying to stay out of. It seemed Kate didn't want to be involved in Politics she just wanted to get things done with minimal fuss which meant circumnavigating the system. Something she didn't want her people in China doing given they had strict laws and corporal punishment that deterred Kate from taking the risk. Or so Wolf assumed.

They stepped out of the jeep and Wolf handed the jeep keys to the Valet before they entered the open double doors to the front foyer. People, security guards and soldiers were everywhere. There were two sets of stairs that hugged the circular shape room and curved down from the top floor, the banisters and railings were intricately carved out of wood or he assumed and painted black contrasting with white walls and the grey mottled marble tile floors.

"So, the summit will run for a few hours and then we'll head back to our accommodations after that. I know a good hole in wall restaurant that has the best spicy chongqing noodles. That and beer will give you the best night's sleep of your life." Wolf told Tom, Tom was about to reply how it sounded like a plan when a man dressed in a suit rushed towards them and stopped in front of Tom and bowed from the waist. He straightened and then started talking rapidly in a language that wasn't English.

"What's he saying?" Tom said to Wolf in a low voice. Wolf stepped to his side as the man in front of them continued to talk at them.

"I don't know, since I don't speak Korean. Sir." Wolf told him in a low voice.

"Captain Chandler. Welcome to Asia. It is such an honour to meet you. I've been waiting a long time for this moment. His words." A woman said as she walked from behind the table in the middle of the foyer that had a large floral arrangement. When Tom saw her face his heart stopped for a moment in shock as it was his little sister Sasha.

She wore a tiny smirk as she maintained eye contact with him. Suddenly his brain made the connection to what Kate said about his liaison in Hong Kong being a 'Sasha Cooper' and Army. He hadn't made the connection because of the last name. But yet, here she was.

She hadn't changed much except her hair was longer as she used to have a bob haircut or even shorter depending on where she was being deployed. But now it was mid length, the same dark mahogany colour their mother had. In fact she looked just like their mother except their mother had never worn a suit or carried a gun as he knew Sasha was right now.

"Tom Chandler... Self conceited, do-gooder, traditionalist who just has to make everyone else toe his precious line in the sand while he follows a different set of rules." Sasha told him, she kept her tone even and casual like she was actually translating the man's words but Tom felt the bite and humour of them all. He smiled and cleared his throat to cover the laugh that was trying to escape, he looked to Wolf who was trying to pretend he wasn't listening.

"Please thank him for me." Tom told Sasha, she gave a nod and turned to the gentleman and spoke in Korean to him. He had no idea what she was saying but could tell the man wasn't insulted which meant she was probably saying nice things about him.

"And tell him, as I recall, you were the traditionalist who had to follow in our predecessors' footsteps only to go off the reservation when the rules didn't agree with you." Tom told Sasha, she pursed her lips and gave a slight shake of her head but turned to the man and continued to speak in Korean. Tom had no idea what she was saying but the man seemed happy as he gave a bow and walked away.

"Sasha." Tom said in greeting to his little sister. Part of him wanted to pull her into a hug but he didn't as he knew she was undercover given the different last name. Anyone who knew what they were saying in English would think they were old friends with a bit of rivalry in their history. Something that was true except for the friendship part as they had been estranged for seven years.

"Tom." Sasha replied looking to her older brother. She looked so smug in her stance like she knew something important that he didn't.

"They told me an asset had survived for months on her own in one of the hottest zones in Asia. Should've figured you'd survive, you were always trying to upstage me ever since we were kids." Tom drawled sarcastically, Sasha looked at him for a moment not even ruffled by the barb.

"And you... the man who went off and had a pleasure cruise around the world while a woman did all the hard work. Pretty typical of a man and you're so tanned, I take it that you must have had a lot of time to soak up the rays the past year. Caribbean?" She asked in a polite manner but her comment was anything that.

"Sasha Cooper, meet Wolf Taylor." Tom said making the introductions as he decided to leave that question alone though he had to admit he liked it that Sasha was acknowledging Rachel's hard work than him. It was refreshing given everyone thought he was super hero and liked to brown nose him about it.

"We've already met before. It's good to see you Wolf." Sasha said looking Wolf as she shook his hand. Tom frowned as the man smiled and shook Sasha's hand giving her the same look in return. But before he could ask about how they met; Sasha released Wolf's hand and turned him, speaking first. "Come. President Peng is waiting." She told him.

She motioned him to follow her, Tom did as she said and followed her through the large foyer with Wolf three steps behind them allowing them privacy. He now had a lot of questions.

"So, Chief of Naval Operations, and they only made you Captain?" Sasha drawled in a curious tone.

"My choice. Captain suits me better." Tom told her, he felt like he needed to do a lot more to skip three ranks to become an Admiral. He might of gone for 'Rear Admiral' as title but there was no point given there was no pay benefits and he'd essentially be doing the same job.

"Whatever floats your boat." Sasha said apathetically with a shrug as they walked down a short corridor that opened into a large ballroom with a large round banquet table set up. There were many people milling around and talking; many of whom Tom recognised as dignitaries from other countries. It was definitely a lavish event as President Peng had pulled out all the stops as he saw champagne, fresh fruits and foods on the table before them. The waitstaff were dressed for five star dining.

"Cooper. Your married name?" Tom asked her as no one had approached them yet.

"Believe it or not, this face isn't something only a mother could love." Sasha informed him, Tom chuckled as Sasha wry smile turned serious. "We were barely back from our honeymoon when I got dispatched to Southeast Asia to investigate the mysterious viral outbreak. Things fell apart pretty quickly, and when I came up, well..." she drew to a stop and Tom looked at her seeing the pain and grief in her eyes. "Everybody lost someone in the fire. I was sorry to hear about Darien." She told him sincerely.

Tom felt his own tug of pain at the acknowledgement. He wanted them to be alone to talk, one of the things he regretted once he found out about pandemic was not being able to repair their relationship. He'd tried to find her and what happened to their other brother and sister but had gotten caught up in rebuilding and spreading the cure. If he were honest he purposefully made himself busy by moving forward instead of looking back. That was on him but now he had yet another second chance.

He was about to say something to her along the lines of them talking after this summit dinner but didn't get the chance as a 5ft 8'' Asian man dressed in a well cut suit and immaculately groomed walked up to them and started talking in Mandarin to Sasha. She smiled at the man and responded in kind. Then gestured to Tom making the introductions in Mandarin as Tom heard his name but that was it. Tom sent a sideways look to Sasha who moved to stand to the side of both of them.

The man held out his hand and took in it and gave it a firm shake noting the man's grip was just as firm as his own. He knew from experience that a handshake spoke volumes about who you were as a person. This man had a steady grip and held eye contact not afraid to show Tom that he thought himself an equal if not a cut above Tom in the social scheme of things.

"President Peng says it is a great honor to meet you, and he wishes to welcome you to New China." Sasha translated for them.

"Thank you for hosting this event. I look forward to speaking with you." Tom said speaking directly to President Peng himself as his sister translated what he said into Mandarin. President Peng gave a smile and inclined his head before he replied.

"Wonderful. But first, we eat." Sasha told Tom as she directed him to the banquet table.

* * *

"You are driving me nuts." Val said in frustration as she threw an empty red bull can at the monitor on the wall. She'd spent the last few months trying to figure out what was messing with their communication systems and all she could see was a low level interference. It was enough to mess with visual communications.

It frankly looked like someone was talking on the same wave length. But it wasn't audio, it also had no discernible pattern and she could track it source. She did know it was on all radio waves which meant someone out there had several antennae pumping out the same garbage messing with them all. But it was all ego that made her annoyed as she couldn't figure it out.

She did know they weren't using Lassiter Industries Satellite Networks. They were completely secure. She made sure of it given she owed Kate and Anna for how they helped her. It was also in her best interest as they allowed her to anything she wanted with them and her Valkyrie Network. They even looked the other way when she hacked into government servers to see what they were up to. But right now she wanted to find the source of interference and remove it. If she did then EMCON would be lifted off the Nathan James when they were in open sea which would put Val into Kara's good books.

She wasn't a baby person so she couldn't really help the woman that way but given Val was serious in her relationship with Alisha; she knew she had to find something that would make Kara happy. Something that would help them become friends given they weren't really much more than acquaintances and if Val was honest she was lonely for people her own age. She tried going out but people were stupid and only wanted to complain about what they didn't have or the government or how great the Nathan James and Captain Chandler was. _Blah, Blah, Blah..._ Val thought as she was over the hero worshipping.

So here she was stuck and while Lassiter Industries was ruled out. It didn't rule out other countries government and telecommunication satellites that could be floating up around the planet. By the way she was struggling she was definitely going to have to go with plan B which was in her opinion an awesome nightlight that shone what looked like stars but also slowly transitioned into geometric shapes and numbers in soothing colours. It was educational and aesthetically pleasing. But she felt it would pale in comparison to getting Kara and Frankie to see Danny via a live satellite feed.

* * *

"Attention on deck." Jeter called as Mike and Garnett walked into the helo bay dressed in their summer white service uniforms. Mike and Garnett had talked about tonight and both while happy to sit through a celebration didn't want to spend all night in Vietnam. They had chosen seven crew members to join them; those who hadn't seen a lot of R&R in the last couple months and one of them was chosen because they had good news to share with.

"All right, all right. Listen up. Coastal Vietnam has been delivered the cure and is spreading it as we speak. Bravo Zulu to each and every one of you. Now, the good people of this nation wish to thank us." Mike said to the small group that formed around them.

Miller, Diaz, Jeter, Burk, Rios, Mason and Green were all dressed up in their summer white service uniforms ready and raring to go. While Burk's older brother Cameron, Mejia, Granderson and Cruz looked envious at being left out.

"You lucky bastard." Cruz said to Miller,

"Hey, someone's got to stand watch, my man." Miller said, Mike ignored the two as he was young like them once upon a time. He just hoped they all behave themselves as he didn't want to delay their departure because of them did something stupid like end up in jail.

"So, let's remember this is a formal goodwill visit. They see us as beacons of hope, and we will behave ourselves accordingly. Understood?" Garnett asked them in a stern tone as she could see what Mike saw, young people wanting to get their drink on.

"Yes, Ma'am." All those dressed in summer whites replied in unison, some of them a little reluctant to accept the orders like a child being told not to do something they really wanted.

"Remember who you're paired with. That is all." Mike said dismissing them. The group dispersed and Mike moved to Cameron. "Still the Wild West. I want the CIC fully manned, all eyes peeled." Mike ordered, he wanted to make sure they didn't let their guard down as they were easy pickings in the port with no back up given the other destroyers were somewhere around Japan.

"Yes, sir. Rally point's set. If you're not home by 23:30, we'll send the cavalry." Cameron told him.

"Very well. Ship's yours, Lieutenant. Don't lose her." Mike ordered.

* * *

"Coming," Kate grumbled as she rolled off the couch with the blanket around her shoulders as someone knocked on the door loudly. Scout raced ahead of her but miscalculated his speed and grip to the floor as he slipped and thumped into the front door. Kate gave a chuckle as it was cute but did feel empathy for him as she waited for him to move. He gave tiny little barks announcing someone was at the door but moved behind her as she pulled it open to find Lena on the other side.

"Lena, you're early." Kate said surprised but happy to see the older woman as she walked into the house and deposited her luggage. She was dressed in usual flourish of stylish 70's clothing, looking fabulous as always. She had a couple canvas bags brimming with vegetables and other sundries. She never showed up empty handed even though Kate assured her she didn't have to. Kate's house was fully stocked with food and everything else but Lena never listened. she figured it was the mother in her.

"I had this beautiful but quite heartbreaking dream about- Oh hello, puppy!" Lena said as she knelt down and got distracted by Scout who dancing around her feet as if she were a new toy to play with. Kate had a feeling Scout would never be a good guard dog but that wasn't why Mike had bought him. Lena smiled as she gave Scout a good rub down complimenting his fur. "When did you get a dog?" she asked Kate.

"It was a gift from Mike for the girls and I. His name is Scout." Kate told her, Lena rose to her feet and embraced Kate in her arms. After a long moment, Lena pulled back from Kate and looked at her with a soft smile.

"Have you seen a doctor?" Lena asked her as she pulled the blanket around Kate up and helped wrapped it around Kate to keep her warm like she were a small child and not a grown woman.

"Yes, I'm anaemic and pregnant." Kate told her, as Lena and Ravit had really been on her case.

"You can survive a pandemic without batting an eye but a baby makes you sick." Lena said in an amused manner.

"You think this is funny." Kate stated as even she could see the amusement of it. Lena patted her on the cheek.

"A little but I also think it's great. Though we will have to talk about making a nursery. Have you had an ultrasound?" Lena asked her as she picked up her bags and moved to the kitchen area.

"No, I was hoping you might come with me; when I get an appointment." Kate said a little hopeful as she followed her. She would have asked Anna or one of her friends. Preferably she'd want Mike but it wasn't going to happen so her second choice was Lena as she wanted a family member there.

"I'd love to. Now Let's get some breakfast into you." Lena told her,


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"All of Asia is here. Laos, Cambodia, India. Even Vietnam showed up. They're on the brink of war with China. They all came to kiss the ring and bring home the cure." Sasha said to Tom in a low voice so those around couldn't hear them over the soft tones of the orchestra band playing to the side and the conversations of all the dignitaries around the table.

"As of nine months ago, Peng was the Minister of State Security. He's clearly moved up in the world." Tom said feeling the need to show Sasha that he was already read into the situation. He just wasn't savvy on what was going on the past few months as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs didn't like being replaced by Tom at the Summit. So in some ways, he was grateful that Sasha was holding onto her professionalism and not letting the past get in the way. In fact she acted like they were somewhere between acquaintances and colleagues.

"Mm. Perks of being the only one to survive in the state bunker. Rumour is he killed all the top leadership and waited out the plague next to their rotting bodies." Sasha informed him as she sat back in her chair, the meal was a slow progression of many courses and mindless chatter about his good work and how other countries were grateful for the cure. He wished they just had one meal and get it over with as he wanted to go home to Rachel and his kids.

Tom listened to her as she peppered him with information about all the dignitaries at the table saving Peng for last. Tom kept his face neutral as he watched Peng from across the table talking with those next to him via translators. Sasha was right, all the dignitaries at some point had made a point in showering the President with praise for helping them in some form. It was actually unusual that no one had mentioned America yet. He also found it interesting that Sasha had a seat at the table than behind him like the other translators but he wasn't going to ask questions until later.

"That's his new head of State Security." Sasha said indicating to the man who'd walked over to Peng's chair and leaned over to whisper something to the President. "His name Lau Hu. It's Mandarin for 'Tiger.' " she added. Tom looked her as he could tell she felt his name had meaning that was more literal than metaphorical.

"I'm not worried about tigers. I got a Wolf." Tom told her, Sasha rolled her eyes and shook her head at him which made him really wonder how his little sister knew Wolf. He looked over his shoulder and saw Wolf standing by the wall. He nodded at Tom.

"Japan's a no-show. Makes me wonder if there was anyone left to sit." Tom said as he hadn't been introduced or seen anyone be introduced as the the representative for Japan at the Summit.

"So the rumours are true... about the virus mutation?" Sasha asked him.

"You're our man in Havana. I was hoping you would tell me." Tom said as he only had Kate and Rachel working on that with what was left of the Japanese government. But the fact the Japanese didn't show to the summit was a bad sign indeed. But as he looked to Sasha he wondered what her purpose was here if she wasn't completely in the know of what was happening in the region.

"Information is hard to come by in Hong Kong, even for me. And Peng will talk about everything but the elephant in the room." Sasha told him, clearly frustrated but then Tom didn't know why she just didn't push for answers she wanted.

She must have changed more over the years than he realised as Sasha used to be bull headed and opinionated, this Sasha was more reserved and quietly confident. She held herself in a way that made him feel as if she were protecting herself from making a wrong move. He wondered if it was his presence that made her wary or something else. So he put it to the test.

"Well, let's poke the elephant." Tom said, Sasha frowned at him but watched as he big brother lifted his glass and sat up in chair. "To our host, President Peng." Tom told them in a loud and clear others at the table paused to join the toast lifting their glasses in honour of Peng. They all murmured the same toast like it was a song and dance just for Peng.

The man himself was last to raise his glass but he added more speaking in Mandarin leaving the translators to speak for him.

"And to you, Captain Chandler." Sasha translated to Tom. "The man who brought the cure to the world." She said as Peng spoke in Mandarin with an air of arrogance as he knew he held the most power in the room. Those around Peng waited and when he took a sip they all drank with him out of respect. All except Tom who placed his glass on the table and looked back at Peng.

"I came to China with more. But I wonder, Mr. President, if I haven't done enough." Tom told him, he waited as what he said was translated to Peng by the translator next to him before Peng replied.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Sasha translated looking to Tom with something akin to annoyance and fear as she had no clue what he was up to. He however knew he was about to make a major social faux pas but he needed to see how far he could push Peng with a public audience.

"Are you aware of the Scott Effect? It's a scientific formula used to determine the critical number of people needed to receive the contagious cure for it to spread effectively. Not enough people get a dose, cure burns out, and whole populations are left unprotected. From what I hear, that may be happening here in Asia, which means the cure we've been sending hasn't gotten to the people who need it." Tom told him, it was in that second of finishing the sentence that Peng spoke in fluent English.

"Captain, if you are implying that I'm not doing enough to spread-" Peng started but Tom cut him off.

"I'm a military man, Mr. President. I don't imply." Tom informed him in a chilling and confident tone. He didn't know why but he felt vindicated that Peng knew English but hid behind his mother tongue hoping for Tom to think he could speak freely in his presence.

"As I have told your President several times, we are doing everything we can, but even China cannot deliver the cure so quickly over so large an area." Peng told him, he was clearly angry at the accusations Tom was making against him and his government.

"Due respect, Mr. President, I don't think you're trying hard enough." Tom told him.

"Captain." His sister cautioned him in a harsh tone but Tom ignored her.

"Sure, Honk Kong may get the cure. Shanghai, maybe. But what about the countries around you? Doses of the cure languish inside Chinese warehouses as we speak. While the rest of Asia goes begging, nobody here seems to be complaining. I don't know if they're afraid of you. I'm certainly not. If you won't spread the cure, my president wishes you to know that we will. Does China really want to be on the wrong side of history?" Tom asked him, Peng's eyes hardened with anger and Tom knew he struck a raw nerve in the man.

"Excuse me. I have pressing business." Peng said, he scrapped his chair back as he rose to his feet and left the room. Those around the table spoke in hushed tones completely shocked by what had transgressed between Peng and Tom.

"How'd I do?" Tom asked Sasha.

"The elephant has been poked." Sasha drawled sarcastically, she took a sip of her glass of wine but he could tell she was pissed even if she hid it under well polished exterior. He knew because Mom would look the same way when she was angry at him or his siblings. She never shouted, she was one of those people who were quietly mad and made sure you felt really bad for what you did by disappointing her. It was just weird getting that from Sasha.

* * *

"Don't make that face at me, Frankie. You thought it was cute to spit up on me, but you forgot that I can't warm your bottle any faster. Your strategic thinking needs to be developed" Kara told Frankie, her baby girl just pouted at her in disagreement from her bouncy chair. A knock sounded at the door and Kara felt relief wash through her as back up was here. She moved to the front door and opened it to find Ravit.

"You're a life saver." Kara told her as Ravit held out a freshly dry cleaned suit on a coat hangar that she picked up on her way over. Kara was going to learn to get changed after Ravit came to babysit Frankie or wear a raincoat inside the house.

"Frankie is just trying to tell you that you need to cut back on your work." Ravit said teasingly as she took in the baby spit up down the current suit Kara was wearing. Kara gave a smile as she couldn't help but agree as Frankie was more likely to spit up when she was in a suit than when she was in her casual clothes. Especially when she was about to head out the door.

"Not you too. I'm only working four and half days when it's quiet." Kara said mockingly as she was used to working much longer hours on the Nathan James but between Frankie and her somewhat new position in Michener's government. She was tired but like she told Kate it was all about keeping herself in the know when it came to the Nathan James.

"Touch wood, it stays quiet. Speaking of, Lena is town. She was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight with Frankie." Ravit told her as they went back into the kitchen. Ravit went to Frankie and tickled her belly turning Frankie's displeasure into an involuntary smile as Frankie was just as ticklish as her father.

"Yeah, that would be great." Kara said, if 5 months ago you'd ask her if she'd sit down and have a meal with her X.O.'s mother she would have laughed and called that person crazy but nowadays she saw dinner at Kate's with Lena in the kitchen as a great break from her own house chores. It also meant Kara could pick the older woman's brain for parenting tips. She figured the X.O. turned out alright so his mother did something right.

"Good, now go get changed and get to work." Ravit told her cracking the proverbial whip on Kara reminding her; she did have somewhere to be.

"Yes, and there's a bottle warming on the stove." Kara told her.

"I got it, you just get ready." Ravit said assuring her everything was alright.

* * *

"I was expecting a garden party, maybe some iced tea. This is more like a strip club." Mike shouted to Garnett over the terrible music as they sat in one of many circular booths in the nightclub. Techno music blared through the speakers, laser lights bounces all over the place as the room was flooded in black lighting making their white uniforms glow. If Mike had known he was being invited to a rave he would have taken two Tylenol before heading off the ship as the pounding music was giving him a headache.

"I guess this is their apocalyptic idea of a goodwill visit." Garnett shouted, she wore a smile as she was enjoying how uncomfortable he was. Not that she said as much but he could tell. It wasn't like their military counterparts who sat on the other side of the both looked happy as they sat with ramrod straight backs looking around the club in disdain.

"More like a liberty call. I don't want to insult anybody, but we're out of here in 30 minutes." Mike told Garnett. He was about to say more when his face was grabbed and a woman came in to try and kiss him on the lips.

"Hey! Hey! No!" Mike said trying to push her away from him but she was pretty strong in her own right and as she pulled on his head hard to kiss but he managed moved his face just in time for her lips to sloppily grace his cheek.

"You're cured!" She announced in slurred English as she slapped a sticker on his uniform. Mike shuddered in disgust as he ripped the sticker off. It told him she was a carrier for the contagious cure which made him roll his eyes as the woman was a moron wasting her time with him or the sailors as they were already immune.

"Make that 20." Mike told Garnett who looked like she was enjoying his torture.

You got a little..." Garnett said pointing to his face, laughing as she found it amusing but Mike didn't the only person he wanted to be kissed by Kate, not some Club Bunny. He just hoped that Garnett got a taste of the same treatment so he could laugh but there only seemed to be a surplus of females in the building.

"What?" Mike asked,

"Wait," she picked up a napkin and started to dab at his cheek. But he snatched it out of her hand and rubbed at the site vigorously to get rid of any trace of the woman's lipstick. He mentally added a decontamination shower to his list of things to do when he got back to the ship. "Ok." Garnett said with a laugh.

* * *

"Thank you." Rachel said to Jed as he placed glass of orange juice down next to her bowl of fruit, muesli and yogurt. She smiled as he saved her from getting up to get it for herself. Sammy and Ashley sat at the table eating scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast as the bus was going to pick them up in about 20 minutes.

Jed and the kids were all dressed for the day while she was lazily still in her leggings and singlet with an oversized stripe jumper. She would never admit out loud but it was the same outfit she'd been wearing for three days now. The only things that changed were her bra, knickers and the singlet. Her hair pulled pack into a messy bun as she really couldn't be bothered dressing up. It wasn't like she was leaving the house which strangely didn't bother her at all.

"You're welcome." Jed said as he took his seat at the head of the dining table to eat his own breakfast. Rachel had been about to ask the kids about what was going on with school when she could of sworn she heard a knock at the front door. She and Jed immediately rose from their seats and moved to the front door as the sound of crying sounded.

"Stay where you are." Jed told the kids when he and Rachel moved to the front door and pulled it open to find Zoe standing in her nightgown. Her face was red and wet with tears as they ran down her face as she sobbed. Her small hands scrunched up into fists as she rubbed at her eyes.

"Hey Munchkin" Jed said crouched down in front of the girl, the girl stopped sobbing long enough to look at them. "What's going on?" he asked her, Zoe's eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip wobbled.

"Maddy" Zoe said as she gulped air. "She's hurt bad. It's all my fault." Zoe told her before she dissolved into tears as she went into Jed's open arms.

"Jed." Rachel said looking to the older man.

"Go, I'll call 911." Jed told Rachel as she raced out of the house. She didn't even think to put on shoes as she raced around the side of the house and slipped through a gap in the fence and headed up the front steps of the Slattery home.

When she entered the house she couldn't help but be taken back by how much the interior had changed. It no longer resembled the home Kate and Mike had made. It instead looked like the interior of a display home, completely sterile of warmth and bland in it's features so as to help owners see what they wanted instead of what was there. But Rachel didn't stop for long as she heard the fire alarm blaring from the kitchen.

She headed past the living room and study to the back of the house where the kitchen was which had also been completely redone. She knew that Christina had done some renovations but this was insane. She coughed at the smoke and the putrid smell of charred baked beans. She found Maddy unconscious on the floor but bypassed her to the stove, turning off the gas to the hot plate.

She pushed the windows open to let the smoke out and knelt down on the floor next to Maddy. She quickly checked for a pulse and found one that was steady before she moved onto assessing the girl for injuries as she was afraid to move her.

* * *

"You didn't mention you were related to the Captain." Wolf said to Sasha in a low voice as they stood by the balcony where Peng and Tom were currently having a 'quiet' conversation. Wolf had been working on and off for the past three months with Sasha as a liaison for Lassiter Industries.

He'd give her information that to him was rather innocuous but Sasha was vital intelligence that helped her and her friend Jessie with their work. They'd been distributing the cure and other supplies to help the people Peng decided to ignore. But the last couple weeks thanks to Michener pressuring Peng to act had put them in danger so Sasha pulled the plug on it. Jessie hadn't been too happy about it but without Sasha, their mission to help as many people as possible was dead in the water.

"Oh really and when should I have mentioned that little tid bit of information?" Sasha asked him in an amused manner before she took a sip of her white wine. She knew wolf would be pissed off when he found out she was the great Tom Chandler's little sister but she hated being in her brother's shadow. Frankly she felt when someone didn't talk to you for over 7 years it meant they weren't family so what was the point in getting upset about it. It wasn't like Tom was interested in dragging up the past as he treated her like they were friends, something that made her uncomfortable given the bad blood between them but she knew she had to keep her act on while she was in Peng's house. He was always looking for a weakness to exploit.

"I don't know, maybe over Yum Cha last week?" Wolf offered trying to keep the conversation PG rated as he couldn't exactly say saw Tom as an unofficial CO, so the fact he'd been in a casual relationship with Sasha just made him uneasy now knowing that she was the man's little sister.

"But we had more interesting things to 'talk' about then." Sasha told him in a low and salacious tone.

"I'm serious." Wolf told her.

"My personal life and past aren't relevant." Sasha told him, as she didn't see why he cared given they were nothing more than friends with the occasional benefit here and there.

"They are when we're -" Wolf stopped as Sasha gave him a sharp look of censure.

"We're not family. Family members call one another, they send cards and care packages to one another. They search for one another when a pandemic hits. Before you think it's all on me. Remember that a phone works both ways." Sasha said as she didn't need him judging her.

"He was surprised to see you here. Does Kate know about this?" Wolf asked her.

"What do you think?" Sasha asked him.

* * *

Less than half an hour later,

"What happened? Are they ok?" Kate asked Jed as she and Lena met him in the waiting room on the paediatric floor of the hospital. She placed Scout on the floor and let him roam as he was attached to a leash. So it wasn't like he was going to get into trouble. Luckily, the hospital had a pets allowed policy so no batted an eyelid when she came in holding Scout under her arm.

"Yeah, both fine. Maddy's fine. She was cooking Zoe breakfast and fell off the stool. She hit her head on the floor and has some minor burns from the baked beans she was making." Jed said to Kate and Lena, he'd come with the Ambulance as Maddy had woken up halfway through being wheeled to the vehicle crying for Mike. Rachel had wanted to go but she was needed with the twins and out of the two of them he was a little more flexible given he wasn't breastfeeding anyone.

So Rachel had remained, he assumed Ashley and Sammy had caught the school bus as schedule leaving only Zoe at their house. Given Jed wasn't family he didn't know much more than what the paramedics told him. He did know standing in the waiting room that a police officer and a CPS worker had gone in to speak with Maddy after the doctors had been in with her.

"Oh my god. Where was Christina?" Lena asked him, as she looked around the place waiting for her to appear.

"She hasn't come home yet. I called 911 when Zoe showed up, so the police and child protective services are involved now." Jed told him, something that had them all relieved because it meant a black mark against Christina to use in court to fight for custody. It had been something Kate and Lena had been working at ever since they lost the girls to Christina in the first place. The problem was that it was a long and lengthy process but today proved that they couldn't wait any longer.

"I'm going to see what they can tell me." Lena said going to the admin desk. Kate nodded as she was in the same boat as Jed as the hospital wouldn't relinquish patient information to her either.

"Thank you, where's Zoe?" Kate asked Jed as Lena moved away. She just wanted to take the girls back to her house and keep them with her until Mike came home but it wasn't possibly.

"At my place. She's upset but ok, Rachel's with her and the babies. She wasn't hurt." Jed said with an encouraging smile as he smoothed a hand down Kate's back as she was completely tense from the situation.

"Alright." Kate said as she rubbed her face with her hands trying to calm down as she just felt completely out of control and afraid for the girls. The guilt that gnawed at her because she couldn't protect and care them as she wanted to. She couldn't even keep her promise to Mike and thus failed them all.

"It's going to be ok," Jed told her.

* * *

Mike flinched at the movement in his peripheral vision; he half expected to be molested again. How these women saw him as attractive mind boggled him as he felt he looked old enough to be their father. Hell, he could be their father. When he turned he saw it Lt Danny Green, the man was like a freaking bubble of energy and joy ever since they hit the port that morning. Part of him knew it was the knowledge they'd be sailing home.

But now, he eyed the man's plastic cup that had a colourful umbrella and fruity garnishes. Maybe it was the booze that was making Danny lean on the edge of their booth smiling like a giddy girl shaking his hips to the abysmal music. All Mike knew was that he was done with this little 'celebration' and playing chaperone. He wanted to get back to ship and smoke a cigar before hitting his rack.

"Just water, Skipper." Danny assured him in a cheerful manner, Mike was half tempted to check but decided against it as he actually had some good news for the man. Hell, he'd been waiting weeks to let the man know but kept it to himself as surprises were only good when there wasn't a long wait for them to happen.

"Lieutenant, we shove off tomorrow, gassing up at Pho Kong. It's all ahead stupid to Okinawa. There's a cargo plane bound for St. Louis there with your name on it." Mike told him, Danny looked at him with wide eyes not sure if he could believe what Mike was saying.

"Sir?" he asked.

"Orders from the CNO. You're going home early. Be with Kara, catch up on diaper duty with your kid." Mike told him, He watched as Danny's face lit up and he dropped his head and gave a laugh of joy.

"Thank you, sir." He told him as he touched his shoulder and looked to Garnett like they'd just given him an early Christmas present. He barely made it two steps away when he shouted a whoop and fist pumped the air. Mike shook his head while Garnett gave him a broad smile like she was proud of him and gave him a playful nudge.

"What? One of us has to see their girls." Mike told her. Garnett just smiled at him as if he were a softie. "What time is it?" he grouched, Garnett looked at her watch.

"10 more minutes." She informed him, Mike narrowed his eyes at her as he was pretty sure they were past the 30 minutes.

* * *

"Was I this small?" Zoe asked Rachel as she had her face right in front of Evie's face. The baby girl made weird facial expressions at Zoe not sure what to make of the 5 year old looking at her. It was the first time Zoe had seen the twins as Christina kept the girls fairly cloistered in their home next door.

"We all were this small once upon a time." Rachel told her as they sat in the lounge room on the floor, sitting on the rug with the babies on a soft blanket. They were awake and just taking in the world around them. Jed had gone with Maddy and Rachel stayed behind even though it gnawed at her as a doctor. But she couldn't leave her own babies, so she made sure Sammy and Ashley got to the bus on time which was easy given the two had a routine leaving her with Zoe.

She had been a crying mess, but once she knew Maddy would be fine she had calmed down and Rachel was able to give her some food for breakfast.

"Do you think Daddy and Kate are going to be mad at me?" Zoe asked, looking up at Rachel.

"For what?" Rachel asked as the two of them had talked more about getting her ready for the day. Rachel knew Zoe should be at school but she couldn't get Zoe to tell her if her mother drove her or if there was a bus she caught. Christina was still MIA; so Rachel gave up and settled in for some quality time with the little girl. It definitely wasn't a hardship given how adorable the girl was.

"Cause of Maddy, we're not supposed to have baked beans cause they make us fat and Daddy won't like us if we're fat. But I begged her to make them and she got hurt." Zoe said, looking guilt-ridden and upset. She sat back on her feet and tugged on the front of her nightgown.

"Who told you that beans would make you fat?" Rachel asked incredulously as there were a lot of things wrong with what Zoe had just uttered but she was completely stunned as she couldn't imagine Kate, Lena or Mike saying something like that.

"Mommy, she said we have to watch our waists and that why we eat yucky food." Zoe said making a face.

"I think you might have heard her wrong. Your father loves you unconditionally. Do you know what that means?" Rachel asked, Zoe shook her head. "It means he loves you no matter what. There's nothing you could do to stop him from loving you. Understand?" Rachel asked her.

"So I can be fat and eat yummy food?" Zoe asked in a hopeful tone. Rachel smiled as she really enjoyed how literal Zoe's thinking and interpretation of her world was.

"He and everyone else would prefer you to be healthy which means a balanced diet of yucky and yummy food. Lots of playing when you're finished your schoolwork and chores." Rachel told her, she highly doubted that Zoe had chores or schoolwork but felt it wise to put it in.

"Like when Daddy was home and Kate lived with us?" Zoe asked her with a smile as she understood what Rachel was saying.

"Exactly." Rachel told her with a kind smile.

"I wanna to live with Nanna and Kate all the time until Daddy comes home." Zoe told her in a small voice.

"I know but the court says you have to live with your mother during the week." Rachel said to her, she knew that she had to be careful of what she said. It was more about protecting Zoe than herself even if she hated how impartial she sounded as she could see Zoe was unhappy and yet she had no power to change that.

"Ok." Zoe said looking sad for a moment but it soon evaporated as she looked to Rachel with puppy dog eyes. "May I have a cookie and Milk, please?" she asked in a sweet manner. Rachel smiled.

"Sure, we'll have some morning tea." Rachel told her.

* * *

The music stopped and the lights went out as the generator running the club died yet again. The crowd groaned in aggravation while Mike gave a sigh of relief and thanked a higher power as it meant they could leave with a viable excuse of the party being over.

A few minutes passed as the crowd int he club waited for the music to start up, but when nothing happened Mike grew even happier. He just needed Rios to signal him and Garnett so they could say their goodbyes to their counterparts and leave.

"Captain."

Mike looked to the source and saw Lincoln and two armed Nathan James soldiers at the main door calling for him.

"Something's wrong." Mike said as Lincoln wasn't supposed to come to club, but as the man walk towards him gunfire sounded sound. Lincoln and the soldiers fell forward as they were shot from behind. People screamed and scattered as more men carrying guns came into the club firing their weapons gunning down anyone who stood in their way.

Mike saw a gunman head straight for them and leapt into action as he raced at the man and deflected his gun and threw him to the floor. He delivered a right hook to the man's face, he then took the man's gun and rose to his feet. He scanned the area, not firing as he didn't want to shoot a civilian but he couldn't find the source of weapons fire. He swung left as he heard Garnett cry out in pain and small Asian man no taller than 5ft 7 appeared at his right and grabbed his gun arm parrying the weapon from his hand.

The man tried to two punch combo but Mike caught him by both wrists with his and twisted him into an arm lock pulling him close and headbutting before throwing back. The man looked pissed at him, which made Mike happy he'd sparred with Kate and learned a few tricks as the Asian man came at him with kick and right hook that he easily deflected before he delivered his own right sheer strength knocked the man unconscious.

Mike barely had time to turn around when the next guy popped up and slammed the heel of his palm into his nose. His vision blurred as the pain seared through his face completely disorientating him. But it was enough as two arms wrap around his and pull him back. Mike fought against but suddenly pain rippled through his whole body and then everything went black.

* * *

"Where is my daughter?" Christina demanded as she rushed off the elevator on the Paediatric floor. Lena and Jed rose from the seats in the waiting room. Both secretly relieved Kate had left to go to Tom and Rachel's home with the puppy to check on Zoe. They knew Kate wanted to see Maddy but the staff were only letting family in to see the little girl.

She ran to the desk and pulled out her photo id haphazardly tossing it at the Nurse. "I'm Maddison Slattery's Mother, where is my daughter? How is she?" Christina demanded in a shaky manner. As she had come home to find her kitchen a mess, with a police officer waiting. She would have picked Zoe up from Rachel's but needed to see Maddy first. Frankly she wasn't ready to endure Rachel's judgemental attitude and Zoe was fine, unlike Maddy.

"Mrs Slattery, your daughter is ok, she had minor burns and a concussion. We're keeping her overnight for observation." The nurse at the station told her as she handed the id back to her in a calm manner.

"Are you a Doctor?" Christina demanded.

"Christina." Lena said, from behind her. Christina squared her shoulders and turned to face her mother in law. Grateful that she was wearing heels as it made her and Lena nearly the same height. "Where have you been?" Lena asked her in a chilling tone.

"That is none of your business." Christina said in a tart manner.

"Maddy nearly killed herself making breakfast for Zoe and it took you over an hour to get here." Lena informed her because she had kept the time while Jed tried to keep her from losing her temper. She was pretty cheerful person but her son inherited his temper from her not his father.

"I don't have to answer to you." Christina told her in a scathing tone.

"You know if you have problems looking after the kids then you're supposed to contact me. I can look after them if you can't get a babysitter." Lena told her trying to take a more diplomatic approach. She knew Christina had enough money and Mike's salary to afford a babysitter.

"You live in Norfolk." Christina told her.

"It's a quick flight and Mike has many friends who'd happily help you. You only need to ask, Jed and Rachel are next door. Ravit and Kara up the road. Hell, Kate is available. You're not without support." Lena told her.

"Like I'd let that whore look after my children. She's already done enough damage to my family." Christina spat venomously.

"No, you did the damage when you left them in the care of your boyfriend in Baltimore who dumped them on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere." Lena said ignoring Christina calling Kate a 'whore' given if anyone earned the title it was Christina. Lena had to admit that Christina brought out the worst in her and after the last three months she was completely done with Christina.

"It's not what happened. He told they died in a riot. I believed him. I'm as much a victim as the girls." Christina told her, trying to put the blame off herself, it really soured in Lena's gut how Christina always played the victim.

"Save it for CPS, Christina. You had months to come to Norfolk and St Louis but you only showed up once Mike was gone. You don't care about those girls, you just want to screw with my boy's life because he's finally happy and you hate him for it. You hate that it's not you who made him happy and you hate that without him and the girls you got nothing." Lena told her.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Welcome to the newcomers and huge thanks to all the reviewers and reviews that have come in so far. Just to be aware, I've changed some things around because 1. there was some inconsistencies in the show in regards to the geography of Hong Kong. Not that my version will be perfect but it made my brain hurt a little less to write it my way..2. AU story gives me artistic licence. Yay!. I also hope you all enjoy and buckle in...as I feel this story is going to be even longer than 'Here With Me'!_

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

"What do you think?" Sasha asked Tom as they leaned against the bar; drinking scotch. Sasha took a sip of her scotch as she mulled over what Tom told her about his conversation with Peng. She wondered what game Peng was playing with them but she was just a small fish in a very big pond. Hell, she was practically insignificant compared to her brother but then he and Dr Scott brought the cure to the world.

"He's saying all the right things. I don't believe a word of it." Tom said to her, he looked out to all the other dignitary and noticed something rippling through the crowd as everyone had grown quiet and were looking between him and Peng. The Vietnamese dignitary rushed over to Tom and stopped in front of him and spoke in rapid Vietnamese.

"What is she saying?" Tom asked Sasha as the woman clearly looked distress and begging them.

"Vietnam is not responsible. She swears it." Sasha said looking confused.

"For what?" Tom asked confused as to why the woman looked like she was begging for her life.

"I-I don't know." Sasha said as she didn't know enough Vietnamese to know everything the dignitary was saying to them. Only that she was asking for something akin to mercy. Wolf who had disappeared to take a call came back into the room with a grim expression as he moved to Tom and Sasha. The Vietnamese Dignitary moved away looking like scared. Tom looked to Wolf.

"Captain, there's been an attack in Vietnam." Wolf informed him in a low voice.

"The James?" Tom asked as he placed his glass of scotch on the bar.

"The President just broke radio silence. He's ordered you back home. I can brief on the way to the airport." Wolf continued in a low voice not wanting them to be overheard. He like Sasha understood that everything in Asia was a power play. To loudly say that Michener called Tom back to the US would make it look like Tom was the President's lapdog not a man of power in his own right.

But Peng of course monitored all incoming and outgoing communications as he smugly walked over to Tom with Lau Hu at his side.

"You see, Captain. You see now who is the true enemy of peace." Peng told him. Tom locked eyes with the man wondered what he meant by the statement. Peng looked like a vindicated man, smug in his innocence but Tom didn't know enough to act. So he broke contact and motioned to Sasha and Wolf to follow as he walked out of the room.

"Sasha, you're coming with me." Tom said looking to her as they headed down the hallway to the front of the house.

"No, I'm President ordered you home. Not me. My place is here." She told him in a hushed tone as she knew she could do more in Hong Kong than she could on an air plane back to the US. Tom stopped and turned to Sasha and glared down at her.

"I don't care where you think your place is. I outrank you. So you're coming with me now." Tom ordered her.

* * *

"He's our puppy but he'll have to live with me until Daddy comes home. So on the weekends, you, me and Maddy will train him to be a very good dog together. What do you say?" Kate asked to Zoe who was petting Scout and giggling as the puppy licked her and wagged his tail excitedly. He was just a quivering mess of excitement which made Kate happy that they did the introductions on the front lawn than in the house as she was sure the puppy would have a disaster.

"Ok." Zoe said distractedly as she was completely taken with the puppy and not listening at all. Kate heard a car pull up on the street and turned around to see Tex hop out of his truck that he'd just parked. He was dressed in his usual get up of tan cargo pants and navy long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

He had been picked up by Tom to work on the military base training recruits. It suited Tex as he had the military background and he made his own schedule. Even if he wasn't Navy, they were short on people who could teach the next generation of sailors and soldiers the skills they needed. Skills that couldn't be learnt from a book.

"Tex, what are you doing here?" Kate asked surprised to see him given he was supposed to be at work.

"I need you to come with me now, there's a situation at Lassiter Industries that needs your attention." Tex told her, forgoing his usual cheerful greetings and getting to the point.

"I didn't get a call and when did you get employed by me?" Kate asked confused as to why he was here and worried as to why he looked so grim.

"Anna asked me to get you as a favour." he told her. Kate quirked an eyebrow as Anna didn't hand out favours to anyone.

"Just tell me what's wrong then as I'm in the middle of something here." she told him as she didn't like the idea of being surprised at the office. Tex looked reticent but after a few moments passed he spoke as he realized Kate wasn't going to move without good reason.

"There was an attack in Vietnam, more information is dribbling in but it's not much other than someone has hit the panic button in Hong Kong. Anna thinks the two are related and wants you at your place. She and Val are setting up shop in your study to monitor the situation and see where you guys can do." Tex said in a low voice.

"Shit" Kate murmured as she brushed a hand over her lips trying not to think the worst of the situation. She knew the Nathan James was in Vietnam but the panic button was what got her worried as she couldn't think of how the two were related unless Peng decided to invade Vietnam and the Nathan James was caught in the middle. Though why Lassiter Industries office wouldn't just call made her uneasy.

"That's a bad word." Zoe said, Kate looked to her and noticed Scout was not with her.

"Zoe, where's Scout?" Kate asked ignoring the fact she had been caught saying a bad word but also because she didn't want Zoe asking what was wrong. Especially given she didn't have all the facts and Zoe liked to repeat things she heard.

"He's doing a doody," Zoe said pointing to where there was a gaping hole in the side fence to see Scout doing just what Zoe said but on Christina's side of the fence. Kate bit her lip trying not to laugh as puppy finished his business and ran back through the gap onto Rachel and Tom's property. He paused looking at the three of them for moment before he scrambled over to them.

"Very good job Scout." Kate said as she crouched down and patted Scout on the head as reward as she didn't need to clean up after him. The puppy yelped happily as he preened under her attention. She looked to Zoe. "Now, will you be ok if you stay with Rachel or would you like to hang out with Ravit?" Kate asked Zoe.

"Aren't we going home?" Zoe asked her, Kate knew immediately that Zoe meant Kate's home not the house next door.

"Not yet, I got work. So who would you like to hang out with?" Kate asked Zoe giving her a sense of control over her situation even if she didn't really have a choice.

"Can I stay here? Aunty Rachel lets me eat more cookies." Zoe told her looking hopeful as Zoe loved Ravit equally as she did Rachel but Ravit wasn't as free loving with the snacks as Rachel was.

"Ok, I'll talk with her and see what happens." Kate told her with a smile, as she didn't want to put too much on Rachel's plate.

* * *

"The plane is ready for take off." A member from the flight crew of the Hercules said to Tom as he had come out to take Tom's bag who stood with Wolf and Sasha by the jeep. Tom and Sasha were currently in the middle of an argument over what to do given the brief message Michener had sent. They'd only taken a break when Tom had to change out of his dress whites into civilian clothing. Wolf was firmly staying out of it.

"Tom, think about this. I need to stay here. I know these people. Peng will use this as an excuse to invade Vietnam to show 'allegiance' to the US. The President knows that. It's why he didn't call me back." Sasha told him.

"My people were attacked on foreign soil. There's no way to guarantee that you'll be safe here." Tom told her. Sasha rolled her eyes at him.

"Please don't start caring about my safety now especially given you didn't give a shit about it for the past seven years." Sasha told him coldly.

"Sasha-" Tom started but Sasha cut him off.

"Don't Tom, you need to go now." Sasha told him. Tom looked to the plane knowing she was right but his gut told him that to get on the plane was not the right move as he'd be completely out of comms for 4 hours and then what? he couldn't do anything up in the air without the intel. In 4 hours any trace of Mike and the kidnapped crew members would be lost.

"Go ahead without me." Tom told the flight crewman in a low voice.

"Sir?" He questioned unsure of what to do as Tom's order was in direct violation of the President's.

"Go. When you get to secure air space contact the President and inform him that I'm pursuing leads on the missing crew members in Vietnam." Tom told the man. He gave a nod and ran off for the Hercules. Tom turned to Wolf and Sasha.

"Are you insane? That's the only plane home for weeks." Sasha told him as the Hercules slowly made it's way to the strip to take off for the US without Tom on the plane as planned.

"They didn't say they were dead. The message from POTUS. They didn't say the sailors were killed." Tom said to them.

"Not exactly but we don't know what exactly has happened which makes it dangerous for you to be cowboying in the East. You're the CNO for christ's sake." Sasha told him as she couldn't believe he going against the President's orders.

"Standing orders will have Nathan James sortie for its own security. It'll take days for any reinforcements to get to Hai Phong. If our crew was taken somewhere being held hostage, the trail will run cold by then. We're going to Vietnam." Tom told Sasha and Wolf. Sasha closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to remain calm as Wolf just stood patiently to the side waiting for orders.

"Tom," Sasha started, she held her hands in surrender and was about to try being diplomatic and polite when the Hercules that had just taken off burst into flames. She turned and looked in shock as the plane's engines were on fire and was careening to the ground.

* * *

 _"C.O., X.O., Master Chief, Mason, Rios, Diaz, Lincoln, Miller, Riley, Harris, DaCunha, Carlton Burk, and Green officially M.I.A."_ Lt Commander Cameron Burk's voice said over the comms that crackled from the interference that had been crowding their radio channels for months. Kara felt her stomach bottom out as she heard Danny's name in the list. She inwardly told herself that he would be fine. He was a survivor, even so it didn't stop her throat from threatening to close up from unshed tears as she thought of Frankie and what would happen if Danny died.

"Nathan James must sortie into international waters." Kara ordered, she was technically 'Deputy Chief of Staff' but apparently she'd just been employed as Michener's Military advisor as she stood in their situation room giving orders she had no authority or entitlement to give as it wasn't her job. But Michener seemed unable to find his voice to speak directly to the Nathan James or making Alex the Secretary of Foriegn Affairs to do his job given the ship was in foriegn waters and he outranked Kara. _Coward.._ Kara thought bitterly as she looked to Michener seeing what Kate and the other women saw. He wasn't a leader, he was just a small and weak man unable to make the call because it would mean he'd have to take responsibility for something that might end tragically.

" _We can't do that."_ Lt Commander Burk told her over the radio. Kara looked to Michener and despised him with every fiber of her being as he didn't have the balls to give the order himself.

"If there is a coordinated attack, you are too vulnerable in the harbor. Stand down until support can arrive." Kara told him, as she reminded Lt Burk of the situation even though it tore her to pieces to do so.

" _Support? We're 8,000 miles from nowhere_." Lt Commander Burk told her angrily, Kara widened her eyes as tears threatened to fill her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of these people.

"Those are CONPLAN standing orders." Kara told him, not even upset by his tone as all she could think about was Danny and how she might not see him again. She heard Lt Commander Burk sigh in a mix of frustration and disappointment.

 _"You do understand what you're asking me to do_?" Lt Commander Burk asked her in a careful tone. Kara felt everyone's eyes on her as the first tears fell down her face. She pressed her lips into a fine line as she hated them all in that moment. She hated them for seeing her weakness, for putting her in a position to order the Nathan James away from Vietnam and losing any chance to see her husband again. But she knew how the military worked, orders were orders whether she liked them or not. She adhered to them.

"Sortie 25 nautical miles offshore and check in for further instructions. Consider this a direct order from the Commander in Chief." Kara told Lt Commander in firm tone as she stared daggers at Michener. Showing him that even if she was emotionally weak, she was strong enough to do her job.

" _Nathan James copies all. Roger, out."_ Lt Commander Burk replied. Kara pursed her lips and nodded as she hung up the radio receiver. She turned her back to the room and closed her eyes taking a moment to compose herself. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Allison who gave her a sympathetic smile. She blew out a breath and turned back in time to see Michener slam his hands on desk in front of him and then walk out of the room.

* * *

"Wow, when you said they'd take over my study. I didn't expect this." Kate said in amusement as she and Tex walked into her study. But her amusement evaporated as Anna and Val had been busy as they had brought in two large white boards. On one board was several maps held up by magnetic pins and marker; the maps were of the pacific ocean and most of the Asian countries like Japan, Korea, China's coastline down to Vietnam. There were already blue magnetic markers indicated what Kate knew to be where the US' military ships and personnel were stationed. Yellow were Lassiter Industries' assets and installations. Red markers were people they knew not to be aligned with anyone or hot spots for unsavoury characters.

The second whiteboard was broken into two sections, the top half had photos of Tom, Wolf, Sasha, Mike, Garnett, Jeter, Mason, Rios, Diaz, Lincoln, Miller, Riley, Harris, DaCunha, Burk, and Green. Kate didn't want to know how they had access to personnel file photos of the Nathan James crew. The bottom half was a makeshift timeline of the events or at least a projection of what they thought happened and rough times.

"You said a panic button was hit." Kate said looking to Tex as this was a lot bigger than she was led to believe. Looking at the room and the boards without understanding the context overwhelmed her as her brain went to worst case scenario.

"I think you need to sit down." Tex told Kate as he helped her over to the lounge and sat her down.

"A lot has come through since I asked Tex to pick you up." Anna told her as she sat down next to Kate. She and Val exchanged looks of concern as Kate was not in any state to be hearing more bad news. But this wasn't something that could wait and they needed her unconventional thinking.

"Ok. I'm ok. What's going on?" Kate asked them, as she took a couple of slow and steady breaths trying to keep calm even though she was about 5 seconds away from losing her shit and crying.

"According to our sources, the Lassiter offices in Hong Kong are on fire. Tom's plane has been shot down." Anna said not even softening the news.

"Ok, what's the deal with Vietnam and the MIA sailors?" Kate asked as she was trying to figure out what all the boards were about how they were connected but nothing came to her as her brain was stuck on Maddy and Zoe. It was stuck on Rachel with the twins and Tom's kids. What it would mean if Mike and Tom were really dead.

"The sailors were at a nightclub celebrating the cure with some bigwigs when the club was attacked. 16 civilians and 8 soldiers were killed, multiple injuries of several other people. Mike and the others on the board are MIA. It's still chaotic, we're getting everything from Michener's office in regards to the Nathan James and the missing crew members." Val said from her seat. She was set up at Kate's desk with three laptops open as she was doing what she did best. Hacking into government servers and searching for information. Kate didn't begin to understand it, all she knew was that it was all highly illegal and that it was best she not ask at all.

"They aren't dead?" Kate asked needing to know for sure.

"There's no confirmation as far we know." Anna said. Kate looked to her friend as they both knew that Kate wouldn't consider anyone on the board dead until their remains found or if someone they trusted saw them die. Until then she held out hope.

"How many dead in Hong Kong?" Kate asked her, a little too overwhelmed with what was going on. Her body was not so great at dealing with stress thanks to the anaemia which left her feeling washed out and fatigued. She was supposed to be taking it easy not being tossed into two crises in less than twelve hours.

"The office was closed for the night but Wolf's team was still there. So we can assume they are dead. We will need to contact the Chinese government and ask permission to enter their territory to investigate the damage to the building and assess what to do with the offices." Anna said.

"I don't give a shit about the building." Kate told her, Anna gave her a patient look.

"It's about getting more people on the ground. Finding out what happened to Tom, Wolf and Sasha, to know what happened to Wolf's team. I know you can't see it right now, but it's all connected." Anna told her. Kate looked from her to the boards as her brain digested what they told her, but it was too much as she was trying to juggle what to do with the girls. Then Scout was at her feet asking for attention. It just became too much for her.

"Excuse me." Kate said, she rose from the lounge and rushed out of the study through the living area until she reached the backdoor and pushed it open. She stepped out onto the back deck. She took a deep inhale and held it in for a moment before she exhaled. The need to vomit passed and the claustrophobia of the moment passed.

"Kate." Tex said from behind her. Kate held up a finger as if to say 'Wait'. She saw Scout run onto the grass and frolick around, knowing full well Tex had directed the pup outside for some exercise.

"I have Maddy in the hospital, Zoe terrorising Rachel who has two newborns and now you're telling me Mike has possibly been kidnapped or is dead. But it doesn't stop there because Tom is dead and his plane was shot down in Hong Kong. I've lost people at my offices there and all the reasons as to why are still unknown. But I of course can't share any of that information or even act on it as it's not confirmed and it's illegally obtained. So I need a moment to breathe." Kate told Tex as she wished she could be Scout. He seemed to have a pretty sweet deal sniffing grass and frolicking around with no responsibilities to think about. Hell, he didn't even have to pick up his own crap.

She however felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and the expectation to make everything better crushing her. She just hated that she felt like she was destined to fail and disappoint everyone because she was so freaking tired.

"I was going to ask if there was anything I can do. But I can take Zoe for the rest of the day." Tex offered casually, Kate turned around to face him.

"Tex." Kate said, tears in her eyes. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I can't do this. I'm a mess." she whispered to him as she held onto him. He'd been like an annoying older brother she had desperately needed the past months in Mike's absence.

"I know." Tex said agreeing with her, Kate back and saw he was smiling which just pissed her off.

"You're supposed to pep talk me." she told him as she wanted him to give her inspiring words not agree with her. Tex gave an unapologetic shrug.

"We all know you'll pull up your big girl panties and do what needs to be -" Tex said as he let her go to rub his injured pec as Kate had punched him hard.

"You know what, you're spending too much time with Anna. Your pep talks suck." Kate told him.

"But they are working." Tex said, Kate made a face at him and shook her head.

"They? you agreed that I was a mess and told me to grow up. It's not inspiring anything but anger." Kate told him, though he was right, she didn't feel so sorry for herself anymore.

"Want me to take the pup too?" Tex asked her gesturing to Scout, being practical as ever and distracting her but Kate shook her head.

"No, it's too much and frankly I need him to learn that I'm his owner. Last thing I need is Mike getting the shits that the dog he got for our family is following you around." Kate grumbled in good humour.

"I'm an alpha, it's just natural for dogs and people to follow me." Tex told her, at which she laughed.

"Yeah, Ok." Kate drawled sarcastically as she pegged Tex as Beta given the way he tended to follow Anna's orders. It was pretty clear she wore the pants in that relationship. Tex just gave his classic 'I'm glad you agree' smile.

"Hey, you should see the people at my work. They follow me around all the time because I'm such a lovable guy." Tex told her in an amused manner.

"Of course, it wouldn't be because you're the teacher and they have to follow you to learn." Kate stated enjoying the brief distraction of their conversation. As she knew she would have to go back inside but right now she gathering her strength.

"Definitely not. Now, I should go pick up Miss Zoe as I got an afternoon class to teach." Tex told her as he checked the time on his watch.

"You don't mind?" Kate asked him.

"Nah, actually it will benefit the class's education given they need to learn to block out distractions." Tex said with a smile and Kate felt that maybe Tex was going to mess with his class but that was his business not hers.

"Well, I'm sure Zoe will be an effective distraction given Rachel is a softie and can't say 'no' when Zoe asks for biscuits and chocolate milk." Kate warned him.

"I'll considered myself warned. You need to go back in there." Tex told her, she nodded as she and Anna co-owned the company so they tried to make sure they made any major decisions and plans together.

"I know." Kate told him.

* * *

Mike despised the indignity of situation. He, Jeter, Garnett, Miller, Rios, Diaz and Mason had woken up in a shipping container. Though Mike highly doubted that Mason had slept as he'd been laying in a pool of his own blood from a gunshot wound to his side. Rios barely had time triage the wound when the doors swung open and several shabbily dressed men armed with weapons demanded they undress. They'd resisted at first but there wasn't much they could do when they had no weapons and the guns were pointed at them. So they disrobed down to their undergarments and they were traipsed through the bowels of shipping freighter until they came to a steel cage.

Once they were inside the cage was locked and when they demanded for medical attention or to speak with the man in charge they were shouted at in a language none of them spoke. Mike hazarded a guess of it being Japanese because Anna had a bad habit of speaking around him when she wanted to tell something to Kate in private. Guns were waved in their faces and frankly they got the message of 'Shut up, you're the prisoner. Act like it.'

So now they were trying to make the best of the situation as they could and keep Mason alive. They had quickly laid him on the floor to give Rios the space and leverage he needed but even Mike knew it was a lost cause. Mason wasn't going to make it and their captor's didn't care.

"Damn it. I can't see shit without my glasses." Rios said as he applied pressure to Mason's wound. "I need clamps. I need clamps! Clamps! Rags and gauze are not enough." He shouted at the guards surrounding their cage.

"Green got away. M-Maybe Burk did, too." Mason said struggling to breathe and speak as he was choking on his blood. He looked directly to Mike as he spoke. Mike griped the young man behind the neck lifting his head and shoulders up just a bit to help him breathe a little easier.

"No doubt. Probably back on the James right now." Mike told Mason in his best 'I'm proud of you' voice because he was but also he hated watching the man knowing he would die like this. The only compensation he could give was letting him know he served his country well. Not that it really meant anything in the end but it seemed to help Mason as he just kept rattling off details about the attack. The need to relay as much information as possible.

"They had EMPs. That's how they cut off the comms." Mason told him in a desperate voice.

"I know, son. I know." Mike told him, trying to keep him calm and conscious. He just hoped their captors woke up and were bringing medical supplies. He heard a door open and looked to his side to see a man walk in, he shouted something in Japanese and one of the guards rushed to the door and unlocked it.

"What are they doing? Are they taking him?" Miller asked as the door opened. Four of the guards who'd been outside the cage placed their guns on the ground and rushed into the small cage, one of them came at Mike and shoved him against the wall of the cage as armed guards followed in. It was a cacophony of shouting as the guards were shouting at them in their native tongues and waving their rifles threatening to shoot pushing the crew members away from Mason.

While the other unarmed guards lifted Mason off the floor and carried out while they all shouted their protests at Mason being carried away.

"Stop! This man can't be moved! This man can't be moved! Put him back!" Rios shouted, but it was too late as Mason was gone and the guards exited the cage and quickly locked it before any of them could try anything.

"You son of a bitch!" Rios cursed as the door that opened earlier shut close. The guards around their cage quietened as they took up their posts staring at them like they were monkeys at the zoo. Mike moved to the cage wall and looked to the door that Mason disappeared through.

"Maybe they've got a doctor for him." Miller said, trying to remain hopeful. Mike looked at him wanting to tell the young man to be realistic but he knew all that they needed hope. So he kept his mouth shut and nodded in agreement before he looked back to the door.

* * *

"So what you can see here is the virus attaching to receptors in a healthy human cell. Once attached, it invades and completely destroys its host before moving on to the next cell. This is what happened to everyone in the world who contracted the virus." Rachel told Evie and Olivia as she had them propped up on pillows in the bed so they could look at the computer screen. She knew they couldn't see more than blurry colours and they just listened to her voice not the content.

She had to admit was relieved when Tex had come back to pick up Zoe. She loved the little girl to pieces but she had way too much energy for Rachel to handle for more than a few hours. So after she and Tex left, Rachel had made a small meal for herself and took the twins and herself back to bed. Where they had spent some quality time together. She liked talking to them about her work as they only interrupted her with their tiny gurgles and random noises.

"Rachel?" Jed called into the room as he slowly pushed the partly open door the whole way.

"Hi," Rachel said with a smile.

"I heard you talking." Jed said to her, taking in the moment as he half wished he had a camera to take a photo for Tom to tell him what Rachel got up to with the twins in his absence. As Rachel had the babies on Tom's side of the bed while she lounged on hers.

"Yes, I was sharing my work with Evie and Olivia." Rachel informed him, Jed smiled.

"Lab assistants in the making." Jed said in an amused tone.

"More like a captive audience." Rachel said as she was going over her own work again to make sure she didn't miss anything but also to refresh her mind on the subject matter given she'd spent the last five months having a holiday from her work. Sure she had been hands on with the cure and it's production in the early stages but once everything was set up, she'd gladly stepped back letting others take over as she wasn't really needed. But she had needed the break.

"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Jed asked her.

"No, I'm good but thank you for asking. How was Maddy?" Rachel asked him as she knew he'd come back from the hospital.

"She's ok, Christina finally showed up with 101 excuses." Jed said with a roll of his eyes. Rachel knew what he meant and felt their mutual frustration as they both disliked Christina.

"Of course she did." Rachel drawled in displeasure.

"Lena going for full custody." Jed said.

"Good, I hope she gets it this time." Rachel told him as she didn't want another morning like they did today.

"Her and Kate have been working towards it, luckily Christina gave them a good excuse to get the ball rolling. CPS should side with them which will help." Jed told her, as he had been there to see it all unfold at the hospital. He was just happy he wasn't on Lena's shit list as the woman had a dark streak in her.

"Poor Maddy had to pay the price though." Rachel said.

"Zoe tell you anything?" Jed asked.

"Apparently Baked Beans will make her fat and Mike will not love her if she's fat. So apparently they have to watch their waists and eat yucky food." Rachel told him shaking her head in disgust as she couldn't imagine a mother actually telling her daughters such a horrible thing.

"What nonsense." Jed said in disgust.

"I know, which is why I hope that Lena wins." Rachel told him.

* * *

"I say again, this is Zephyr. Alpha Team, come in. Anyone from Alpha Team, this is Zephyr." Tom said on the radio Wolf had given him. But so far only static had met their call. He looked to Sasha who was incredibly quiet in the backseat of the jeep before he turned to Wolf.

"Are you sure this is on the right channel?" Tom asked Wolf, they'd barely escaped the attack at the airport but now they were speeding down through the empty roads of Hong Kong with no destination in sight. He remembered being in the city a couple years ago and how packed the roads had been with hire cars, taxis and the odd bus. Now there was nothing, there wasn't even any civilians on the streets. But they were completely deserted now.

"It's the right channel, and it's been clear all week." Wolf told him, Tom looked to the Australian completely unnerved by how visibly angry and upset the man was. He'd never seen the man as being anything but in control of his emotions and always in an affable manner.

"Alpha Team, Zephyr... come in." Tom said into the radio, trying to reach Wolf's team who had been their support to help them exfil the country in the event of things going south. Well, they'd gone south but their team was unreachable.

"We've been operating on EHF. It's completely secure. If they're not answering, it's because Peng took them out, that mother fucker!" Wolf said as he smacked his hands on the steering wheel; momentarily losing control of the vehicle.

"Hey! You need me to drive?" Tom asked the man as he didn't want them to crash.

"I'll be fine, Sir. Let's just get the hell out of Dodge." Wolf told him in a venomous tone. Tom looked over to his sister in the back seat.

"Sasha, you know anyone that can help us get to out of Hong Kong?" Tom asked her. Sasha looked who'd been looking rather shell shocked turned to him and nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Wolf, head towards Mong Kok East station and I'll direct from there." Sasha told Wolf, as she could only think of one person that Peng didn't know about so the MSS wouldn't beat them there.

"Hold on." Wolf warned them, as he turned the wheel and made a hard right hand turn taking them down a back road taking a short cut.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

About 20 minutes of travelling through a dizzying array of streets to end up at Langham Place. They'd walked through the deserted shopping complex. Tom wondered if Sasha was leading them on a wild goose chase as they climbed several flights of fire escape stairs before ending up on the 19th floor of the apartment building above the shopping centre and metro station.

The numbering system made no sense to Tom given they were more than 19 floors above the street but he kept that thought to himself as he followed his sister down the hallway with his gun in hand ready for trouble. He knew if MSS caught them here there was no escape.

"What makes you think this friend of yours will be willing to help us?" Tom asked Sasha, he couldn't imagine anyone risking their ass for them when they had the MSS on their tails.

"She was a pilot for Doctors Without Borders, one of the best I've ever seen. When the plague hit, she couldn't get out of China, but she still risked getting infected to run aid to isolated regions. Before Peng emerged, I used my contacts to help her target the hardest-hit areas. We smuggled food, fuel, other provisions. Once Peng took power and you delivered the cure, I slipped into a more diplomatic role. Jesse did not. " Sasha explained as they reached the penthouse apartment that Jesse lived in. Tom frowned as he didn't hear Sasha explain why Jesse would help them.

Electronic music blared loudly through the door which told them that Jesse was home. Sasha paused at the front door and turned to Tom.

"Uh, she's a bit paranoid about new people. Why don't you hang here? Let me talk to her first." Sasha told him, she was a little apprehensive about coming to Jesse given everything that passed between them but they didn't have a choice. She just hoped Jesse still hated Peng more than she hated her. She knocked on the door and called out Jesse's name.

"Jesse?!" Sasha tried for a second time but there was no answer, she looked back to Wolf and Tom. She'd never seen Wolf so completely dark and angry before. But then she knew he was in grief, he'd handpicked his team from his old Navy Diver friends who'd survived the virus in Australia. They were a family, and frankly they'd all assessed their danger in Hong Kong as being low given Peng wanted to take control of Vietnam and the smaller Asian countries surrounding China not start a war America or Lassiter Industries. Or so it seemed until tonight, so the fact his team went dark meant only one thing that they were dead.

"You want to do the honors?" Tom asked Wolf.

"With pleasure, sir." Wolf said, Sasha stepped back as Wolf walked up to the door and kicked it in like it was nothing. The music blared even louder now they were in the apartment. Tom and Wolf walked in first and Sasha behind, she frowned as she noted the empty camp beds. She knew the apartment was somewhat of a transient hostel for Jesse and her brother and their friends when they weren't off doing supply drops. So at any given time there was usually one or two other people.

She walked past her brother and walk needing to get to Jesse first so she didn't have her rant in front of Tom. Part of their relationship falling apart was the secrets and distrust that came with having to keep everything compartmentalised. For her it was second nature but for Jesse who wasn't military or used to covert operations it was harder for her to understand. Even harder for Sasha to explain it to her.

 _"We all fall down Ring around the Rosie. Pocketful of posies Ashes, ashes We all fall down. Ring around the Rosie Pocketful of posies. Ashes, ashes_ " Sasha hated the song as it was just a bad rip on the virus as it was their century's Bubonic plague. Yet people listened to the song and danced and sang to like it was a happy anthem completely missing the context because it had a peppy beat.

"Jesse?" Sasha called out, she walked around the L-shaped apartment and felt relief as she saw Jesse lying on the lounge asleep in her singlet and knickers. The relief soon faded as she noticed the coffee table littered with smoked cigarettes, empty cherry cola cans and a 1/4 full bottle of bourbon. She rushed over to Jesse's side and gently shook her shoulder to wake her. The music stopped as Sasha could only assume that Tom or Wolf turned it off.

"Jesse?" Sasha said softly to her, Jesse woke slowly and rolled onto her back looking at her.

"Oh, hey, Sasha." Jesse said in a sleepy manner, she stretched her arms out or so Sasha had assumed but instead Jesse surprised her by slugging her in face hard with her fist.

"Jesus, Jesse!" Sasha said she pressed a hand to her face and stepped away putting distance between them.

"Who are these? Your goons? Come to finish the job for Peng?" Jesse asked her, her voice dripping with incrimination and hatred. She rolled off the lounge and got to her feet not even concerned by the guns pointing at her or the fact she was in her underwear.

"What are you talking about?" Sasha asked confused.

"You don't know?" Jesse asked in mocking disbelief, her words slurring slightly from sleep and from the bourbon she'd drunk earlier.

"I don't have a clue." Sasha said honestly, she wondered what the hell made Jesse think she deserved to be punched in the face. Sure things between them ended badly but not enough to be decked.

"Guangzhou. That little hellhole no one was supposed to know about. We show up. It's crawling with PLA. If you had told me Peng was moving his missiles, we wouldn't have walked into a trap!" Jesse shouted at her, Sasha's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"I didn't have any idea about Peng moving anything!" Sasha told her defensively.

"Well, it was bad luck for us, or someone told them we were coming. 'Cause Lau Hu was there waiting. My brother, all my friends. Mowed down." Jesse told her, Sasha felt her pain as Jesse looked at her as if it was her fault, the grief of losing her family and friends was on her because they'd parted ways badly. Yes, part of it was Sasha's fault but they both knew Sasha would never had let Jesse walk into a trap.

"Jesse, I didn't know anything about that. You have to believe me." Sasha pleaded with her. Jesse scoffed at her.

"Believe you? You already got a deluxe suite in Peng's mansion. Or have you moved into the master?" Jesse asked Sasha, her tone dripping with insinuation.

"Hey. Do you know who I am?" Tom asked breaking up the conversation between Sasha and Jesse. He and Wolf exchanged looks as they both couldn't help but feel like they were watching a conversation that wasn't for them. It did raise a lot of questions in Tom's mind but now wasn't the time. The woman Jesse, slid her eyes to him and gave a brief nod of her head. He had to admit it was new not being recognised on the spot but obviously Sasha and Jesse's problems with one another was more important to the lithe 5ft 6 Asian woman with bottle blonde hair and tattoos.

"I came here to stop Peng from hoarding the cure. Now, he just tried to kill me. All of us, actually. I think anyone I'm with at this point is fair game. And his MSS are 10 minutes behind us. I'm very sorry about your friends. I've lost too many myself. And as far as I'm concerned, Peng's been pissing all over their graves, but your cover's blown now. So we should all probably go." Tom told her as he needed them to get moving, so he just laid it all out to her. He just hoped it geared her into action but instead of moving her, she looked pissed off.

"We need the helo." Sasha told her, just hoping that the woman would help them but then they hadn't really given her a choice as the MSS would be here in minutes. Jesse gave her a hard look for a long moment before she sighed and turned away picking up her pants.

"God damn it." Jesse muttered.

* * *

"Ah damnit!" Mike growled after Rios pushed his nose back into what he hoped was close to it's original position as it was fucking painful. To Mike it felt like it had been broken again but he trusted the medic. Even if he was covering his nose in a protective manner giving the man a dark look. It was just reactive given the pain.

"It should heal close to what it looked like before." Rios told him, cringing as he didn't like how the Captain looked ready to deck him for setting his nose.

"Thanks." Mike grumbled as he let the pain and nausea roll through him. Rios nodded as he moved away.

"Who are they? I don't think they're Vietnamese." Miller said in a low voice to them all as he and the others had been studying their guards trying to gather as much information as they could. They knew their people would come for them. But a rescue was a two sided deal. They needed to find their enemy's weaknesses and exploit them at the right time.

"Seems like a hodgepodge. Heard some Japanese, Thai, some Chinese." Mike said, though he couldn't make sense of how they all communicated given none of them spoke English in front of them or have a language in common but there was a hierarchy. The head man was Japanese, but not all the underlings were Japanese.

"Chinese writing on the side of the freighter." Jeter said, Diaz who'd been sitting on the floor turned to his side and upended his stomach just outside the cage. Mike looked at the kid with sympathy given he had a good goose egg on his head. He'd hazard that he had a concussion.

"You all right, kid?" Rios asked him.

"Yeah, just seasick. This boat's a lot rockier than the James." Diaz said with a chuckle, Miller moved from his position and crouched down in front of him.

"Hey. Bend your knees, hold them to your chest, close your eyes. Every 60 seconds, open them again for a 5 count. Do it again." Miller advised him, Mike looked down at his watch as he knew Miller would look after Diaz, while he and the others focused on their task.

He was surprised that they'd been allowed to keep their watches, rings and dog tags. Though he'd preferred they'd kept their clothes as he didn't like standing around in his t-shirt and boxers.

"4:32. Been at sea, what? Figure three hours?" Mike asked Jeter and Garnett given they were more likely to be able to estimate their speed and direction given their years of experience in engineering and being below decks of the ship. They tracked speed and direction from the motion of the ship and the sound of the engines. Not that Mike expected them to be too accurate given it was a engine they'd never listened to before. But anything was better than nothing.

"I got us at 12 to 14 knots, holding steady." Jeter told him with confidence.

"Direction?" Mike asked.

"Based on the roll of the ship, if the wind's held east, south, southeast, don't you think?" Jeter asked looking to Garnett who nodded in agreement.

"Away from China. Away from Vietnam. Where are they taking us?" Rios asked.

* * *

"Copy. 25 nautical miles off the coast in vicinity of 2.60 north by 106.94 east." Kara said into her headset as she wrote down the coordinates into her folder. She looked to the staff member in front of her making sure he had the same coordinates before he ran off to update the position of the Nathan James on their maps.

She looked up to see Alex finish his call and watched as he walked to Allison. She pulled the headset down to her neck and pretended to continue writing notes as she eavesdropped.

"I just got off the phone with the Vietnamese. Eight of their own security team were gunned down outside a nightclub. We put the James in Vietnam to send a message. Peng just sent one right back to us." Alex told Allison, their voices carried in the room even with the all the movement of rustling paper and people walking around as they set the room up. They now had three boards set up with all the relevant information and five clocks on one wall denoting the timezones of Zulu, Central, East Coast, Hai Phong and Hong Kong.

"Captain Chandler's plane will be in secure airspace in less than an hour. We'll get a better read on Peng when we talk to him." Allison told Alex, Kara couldn't help but feel like they had wasted the past three hours but then she was used to Tom's command where he was decisive and quick to act. Michener's command was filled with petty squabbling and inaction as she knew for a fact the President had been holed up in his office doing God knew what, she was about to wonder when he'd grace them with his presence when he walked opened the door that connected his office to the room and came in.

"The James is safely off the Vietnamese coast. They're at EMCON, awaiting further instructions from us." Kara told Michener, not wanting to waste time in pleasantries. She really wanted to push him to inform the family members of the missing crew of the situation. At least inform Kate and Anna as the two could help them but she was trying to find the right time to slip it in.

"Still no word from any of the missing sailors?" Michener asked her, she shook her head.

"No, sir. But Shackleton and Hayward are scheduled to dock in Okinawa in less than three hours." Kara told him, she looked over to the board where they had the personnel file photos of all the people who were currently MIA. It was hard to see Danny's photo up there. All it did was remind her of Frankie and a little embarrassingly that she really needed to step out and pump breast milk for her as she'd been in the room too long and she starting to get uncomfortable. If anything it was a reminder that she had responsibilities to those outside this room not just Frankie.

"I suggest we refuel them immediately and deploy them to Hai Phong." Alex advised him.

"Refuel, yes, but we still might need those ships to investigate the mutations in Japan. Let's not forget why we sent Chandler to Asia in the first place." Michener told Alex and the others.

"Sir, wouldn't it be wise to read in Kate Lassiter and and Anna Hatake into the situation? They have resources in Asia, maybe they could investigate the mutation in Japan freeing the destroyers to help the Nathan James." Kara said, Allison and Michener looked to Kara like she'd just suggested they sell their soul to the devil for three day old sandwich. Alex looked rather neutral about it.

"I don't think it's prudent to do so. Lassiter will take over and we'll loose what little control we have now." Allison told Michener, who seemed to be on her side. "And I don't think we should send anybody else into the region till we have a better sense of the situation, Sir." she added.

"Uh, Mr. President, someone took 13 of our people. Now, I don't care if it's Peng, the Vietnamese, or pirates. The James is sitting out there without its X.O., without its C.O. on its own. Kara is right, we could use Lassiter Industries to lighten our load in this respect." Alex said to Michener.

"Okay. And if you're right, Alex, if it is Peng, this could be a trap to get our only three operational West-Pac destroyers in one place. Then we'll completely dependant on Lassiter Industries to help us once again which will undermine Michener in the public eye even more. We need to wait for Captain Chandler's assessment and proceed from there." Allison argued.

Kara watched wishing she kept her mouth shut about Kate and getting her to help as Alex and Allison twisted her suggestion into something ugly and mean. Sure, Kate was about ruining Michener but she wasn't blatantly out there graffiti-ing walls with slurs against the Michener administration or playing the press. She an was just being an effective business woman.

"I agree. We wait till we hear from Captain Chandler. Meantime, nothing leaves this room. Understood?" Michener said to them, Kara couldn't help but feel Michener had said that last part more to her than the others.

"Yes. Sir," Kara replied.

* * *

"KAAAAAAATTTEEEE!" Zoe shouted so loud Anna, Val and Kate could hear her through the closed study door. They'd been tracking the progress of the situation. Though it was more of a lack of progress going on than anything else as Michener and his people were waiting for Tom to call in before they made any real plans. So they were stalled as they had no clue Tom was pretty much in the wind. Though it wasn't like Kate, Anna and Val had done much except re-task a couple satellites and had Val working on the radio interference to figure out what it was so they could remove it.

"Cookie Monster is home." Anna said as they heard Zoe barrelling into the house and Tex's voice warning her to slow down. Kate looked up at the clock not believing it was already the afternoon.

"No kids in here." Kate told them as she got up from the lounge and headed to the door to stop Zoe from coming inside. She knew she didn't have to say it but she needed it to be clear. She didn't need Zoe repeating what she saw in here to her mother as Christina would run for the closest media outlet.

"Can that rule apply to the puppy?" Val asked Kate.

"No, Scout can't repeat what he sees. At least not in a language that is accepted by the legal system." Kate told her with a smile.

"He's licking my boots." Val informed her making a face as Kate and Anna looked under the desk to see that Scout was indeed licking her boots like it was an ice cream cone.

"Must of stepped in something tasty." Kate said with a grin, she knew that Val wasn't the most fastidious person. But as much as she wanted to continue bantering with Val, she needed to intercept Zoe. So she stepped out of her study and made it about 4 steps when Zoe barrelled at her in her usual exuberance.

"Hey kiddo," Kate said with a warm smile as she lifted Zoe off the floor into arms pulling her away from the study. She had to admit it was a bit of an effort given Zoe was getting the stage she was too big to be carried. At least by Kate for Mike or any man with enough muscle it'd be no issue. Scout ran across the floor and Kate heard the study door close. she couldn't help but smile as she knew Val had evicted the puppy, she looked to Tex and was surprised when he was followed by Lena.

"Lena, I was going to come to the hospital to see Maddy in an hour." Kate said to her.

"Don't bother. Christina is putting on the show of her life. She won't leave her side and-" Lena started but Kate cut her off finishing the sentence.

"I'm not welcome. Did you get to talk with Maddy?" Kate asked her, as she really wished she could of seen Maddy but dealing with Christina caused more stress on the girls and herself than it was worth.

"Yes, I assured Maddy we'd pick her up in the morning and Christina has graciously allowed us to have Zoe early this weekend." Lena said, Kate nodded before she looked to Zoe. The girl had a wild look in her eyes as her clothes were rumpled and grubby. She expected as much as she'd been with Tex all afternoon.

"Hey you, how many cookies did you eat?" Kate asked Zoe.

"This many." Zoe said holding up three fingers, Kate looked at her for a long moment and then a Zoe bashfully lifted a finger and thumb to the count.

"Uhuh, I thought so." Kate told her, she looked to Tex who held his hands up to say 'I'm innocent'.

"It was all Rachel." Tex said deflecting responsibility for Zoe's cookie monster ways.

"Aunty Rachel said I could save them for later but I got hungry and they were yummy." Zoe told her.

"Uhuh. Did you eat any fruit today?" Kate asked her.

"Yep, I had an apple. Where's Scout?" Zoe asked her, Kate smiled at the question as she was happy to direct Zoe to the closest distraction.

"He's over by the door. Why don't you and he go play in the backyard for a bit." Kate suggested to her.

"Ok." Zoe said as Kate placed her on her feet. The little girl scrambled over to back door and opened it. Scout didn't need instructions as he ran outside with her into the grassy backyard.

"How's Maddy really?" Kate asked Lena wanting a more serious answer as she kept half of her attention on Zoe and Scout while the other half on Lena.

"She'll be ok." Lena assured her, Kate nodded not feeling better for the information as she felt like she just needed visual confirmation to know it to be true but she'd have to take Lena's word.

"Ok. Tea, Coffee?" Kate offered Lena and Tex, changing the topic.

"I'll make the coffee. You both sit down." Tex said going over to the kitchen before Kate could.

"You hiding something in the study?" Lena asked her, Kate chuckled as Lena was too sharp for her own good.

"Only from Zoe. We'll need to talk." Kate told Lena, she hated that she had to tell Lena what was going on but she couldn't exactly keep what was happening in regards to Mike and the others a secret and frankly she knew if it were her in the dark. She'd want to know immediately.

"We do, I want to get full custody of the girls." Lena told her, Kate blew out a breath as her brain went blank for a moment. She was barely keeping up with what was going on in the study and now Lena wanted to take on Christina again. Sure the two of them had been working the last three months building a solid case for Lena to fight for her parental rights as a Grandparent but Kate couldn't help but feel slightly panicked at the thought of doing it now with Mike's fate in limbo.

"Now's not the best time." Kate told her honestly.

"Why not?" Lena asked her.

"You better sit." Kate said gesturing for her to sit at the breakfast bar that faced the kitchen. Lena did as Kate suggested and sat down. Kate took the stool next to her and turned so they facing one another.

"Mike and several crew members from the Nathan James have been reported MIA. We don't know much and frankly we're not supposed to know what we do but we have our sources." Kate told her.

"Oh my." Lena said as she paled at the news and withdrew in herself for a long moment.

"If we fight for full custody now, and it's released that Mike is MIA, we're more likely to lose again. Biology trumping what is best and that will be it. We won't be able to appeal for weeks maybe months." Kate told her, she didn't add in that they'd be painted as the bad guys and Kate would end up with profanity spray painted across her house or worse. But she kept it to herself as it wasn't relevant.

"These girls need us and what you're saying isn't public yet. So let's fight for them now while we still have time. She can only play a victim when it's out." Lena argued, she could see Kate's reticence as they'd lost the first time round and it had been a hard battle. She took Kate's hands into her own and looked at her; making her see that she felt they had a good chance. That it was worth the risk. "Kate, I know you fought like hell and lost but we've worked hard for three months and Christina has handed us now is a golden opportunity." Lena told her.

Kate looked at her, and could see how hopeful and determined Lena was about doing this. She tried to think of how this would all work out in their favour as well as Kate sneakily getting in Michener's business. But decided it was too much and just focused on Lena and the girls. She knew Mike would want her to keep trying, no matter what was going on with him.

"Ok." Kate said as she nodded.

"Yes?" Lena asked just confirm that Kate was agreeing that they should try for custody.

"Yes, I'll call the lawyers and we'll get the ball rolling." Kate told her.

* * *

"Hey, can you put out the cigarette?" Wolf asked Jesse as he sat in the front passenger seat with her as driver. Jesse slid an annoyed look his way from the driver's seat as she continued to drive her truck through the empty streets of Kowloon as they headed to where she kept her Helo parked.

"What? Are you afraid of lung cancer? You know we got bigger problems, right? MSS, 10 minutes behind us?" Jesse said as she made a point of taking a long draw off the cigarette she'd lit barely 5 minutes ago and exhaled the smoke out the window. She wasn't breaking any of her habits for anyone given he, Sasha and Tom were the ones who rudely woke her up and ruined her Saturday night plans.

"Could be. Or not.I mean, Peng did try to kill us, too, if it's any consolation." Wolf told her, trying to find common ground but Jesse wasn't having a bar of it as she took another long drag off her cigarette and blew the smoke out the window.

"You're quiet." Sasha said to Tom, she felt like she couldn't be in a more awkward position if she tried with Wolf and Jesse in the front and her estranged brother in the back.

He just stared out the window since the trip started not saying a word. Something that drove her nuts as she could see the cogs turning in his head. He was brooding on something. She wondered if it was about Jesse and her, what Jesse said; her insinuations and accusation about who she was aligned with. She was just waiting for him to judge her.

"Processing." Tom told her.

"I know that look. You're not processing. You're brooding." Sasha told him, Tom didn't look at her as he kept his eyes to the passing scenery of buildings.

"I was only supposed to be gone for two days." Tom told her.

* * *

"Ravit, is everything ok?" Kara asked as she had been on her way to see Michener, Allison and Alex who were currently in a conference call with Senator Beatty and Manuel Castillo who represented Washington and California in the consortium of Regents for the territories that cropped up after the pandemic. They were willing to discuss laws and work together with Michener but refused to submit control of their territories and conform to Michener's want of the old world politics.

"Of course, we thought we'd stop by and see how your day is going." Ravit said as she had Frankie strapped into stroller in a cute floral sundress paired with a cream cardigan and a fox socks on. Kara leaned over and unbuckled Frankie's restraints and lifted her baby girl into arms.

"Hi Frankie, have you been good to Aunty Ravit?" Kara asked her, Frankie just poked her tongue at her and smiled. Something Kara couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter before she pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"She's been fine." Ravit said. Kara looked to Ravit and gave her a tired look.

"Good, at least your day is going well. Mine not so great." she admitted, she honestly wanted to tell Ravit everything but the hallways weren't safe for such disclosure of information.

"Politics never are." Ravit offered, Kara smiled as she knew Ravit had no love for her work or politics in general. She knew this because Ravit wasn't exactly shy about sharing her views about how ineffectual most governments were, something Kara wished she could defend but after the short time she had on her job with Michener; she kind of agreed with Ravit.

"I honestly believe I accomplished more in a 12 hours shift in CIC than I have in 4 weeks of being in this job." Kara confessed to her in a low voice. She hated to admit, she was tempted to jump ship and work for Kate especially right now as she felt Kate and Anna would be working hard to make things happen instead of waiting for one man to clear China air space. It just reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing right now.

"Hmm, I spoke with Lena. Dinner has been pushed to 7pm." Ravit said breaking Kara out of her thoughts.

"Is everything ok?" Kara asked her as she adjusted Frankie in her arms and felt her daughter drop her head against her shoulder. Kara looked down to make sure she was ok and sure enough her baby girl was wide eyed and transfixed on all the movement of the people around while her tongue poked out licking the collar of her cardigan.

"You'd know the same as me unless you want to share." Ravit said in a rather cryptic manner. Well, it would have been cryptic to anyone overhearing them but for Kara it was shorthand between them.

"Kate knows." Kara said in a low voice as she adjusted the cardigan wondering why Frankie was licking it but gave trying to understand it as she chalked it up as another weird baby thing. At least she was happy and healthy which was what Kara reminded herself when she looked at Frankie.

"Yes." Ravit told her, Kara nodded glad that Kate knew as she hated all the cloak and dagger of it all. Michener wasn't keeping the information in the dark to protect the missing soldiers but because he wanted to protect his image.

"Anything I should know?" Kara asked hoping that maybe Kate knew something about Danny and the others that she sent Ravit to tell her.

"Nothing you can confirm. Yet." Ravit said, which meant yes, Kate knew more than them but Kara couldn't share it until Michener and his people could confirm it otherwise she'd look like a spy. The one thing Kara wanted to avoid.

"Does she know anything about Danny?" Kara asked her wondering if it was what Ravit wasn't sharing but the woman shook her head.

"Same as you, only partying in Hai Phong." Ravit told her, choosing her words carefully.

"Ok." Kara said with a sigh, she looked to her daughter. "I have to pass along a message but could you and Frankie meet me in my office?" she asked as she handed Frankie over to Ravit.

"Sure, we don't have any plans. Just cruising." Ravit said as she held Frankie to her side.

"Thank you, I'll be there in less than 15." Kara said before she left them. She took off and headed directly Michener's office. She quietly opened the door and closed it behind her before she moved around the table to Allison and Alex.

The two were standing in the corner out of the camera view of the conference call. Michener looked frustrated as Senator Beatty was arguing the effectiveness of Ration stamps, something that all the Regents of the consortium disliked intensely as it was Michener's way of controlling current food stock in shops.

"Captain Chandler's plane is supposed to be over clear air space, but we cannot reach the plane. We tried Sasha Cooper and our security team in Hong Kong. We cannot raise them, either."

"When are they due to land in Pearl Harbor?" Allison asked Kara referring to Tom's plane.

"5 1/2 hours. Our ships are refuelling in Okinawa as we speak." Kara added wishing they had changed their mind about keeping the destroyers in Japan and actually ask Lassiter Industries for help so the destroyers could assist the Nathan James.

"Let's not go there yet. Just keep trying the plane." Allison told Kara.

Yes, Ma'am." Kara said as she turned and left the office and headed back down the hallway to her own. She'd already given the order for Dennis to keep trying to contact the Captain's plane.

She walked into her office and smiled as Ravit made herself and Frankie at home. The woman had laid out a baby quilt on the floor and had Frankie enjoying some belly time. She knew any of the professionals walking the hallway would baulk at Kara having Frankie in her office but she needed a break from work.

"So is Kate going to let me know anything?" Kara asked Ravit.

"Call her." Ravit said, Kara moved to her desk and picked up the phone and dialled Kate's house. It took about three rings but Kate picked up the phone.

" _Hello._ "

"Kate. It's Kara." Kara told her as she moved to the floor with the phone by her ear as she leaned over Frankie. She didn't want to waste this time completely.

 _"Kara, what's going on?_ " Kate asked in a jovial manner that belied the seriousness of the situation.

"I was going to ask you the same question. I'm just hoping you can share something. Anything with me." Kara said wondering when there'd come a point when she'd ask too much.

" _Well, in half an hour you're going to learn Tom's plane had engine troubles and crashed upon take off from Lantau Airport- No Zoe, Scout drinks water not chocolate milk cause it gives him a sore tummy. Sorry where was I?_ " Kate asked in a distracted manner.

"Oh my god." Kara said, as her heart stopped as she was back at the news about Tom, she sat back on her feet in shock. If the Captain was dead it would completely stall Michener and he'd definitely keep the destroyers in Japan than send them to Hai Phong to support the Nathan James. It would mean there would be no search for the missing crew members.

" _Oh right, yes, the plane was actually shot down_." Kate told her which made Kara frown.

"What?" Kara said in disbelief. If Peng ordered the plane to be shot down then that was an act of war. It was something Michener needed to know but then she realised that she couldn't tell Michener because he would think it was a ploy from Kate to make him jump to action an make a fool of him. It was why Kate had no qualms telling her the information so freely, she wasn't trying to hurt Kara professionally but keeping her in the loop out of respect.

" _My offices were burned to the ground too. I have three men dead, one MIA. Wolf Taylor, if it's any interest to the Michener administration._ " Kate informed her.

"What was Wolf doing in Hong Kong?" Kara asked wondering how all the pieces fit together.

" _Buying shiny bling and making sure Tom wasn't imprisoned for insulting someone. Look, we don't have any bodies yet and Chinese government are stonewalling my efforts to send in a team to assess the damage of the building which is a good sign._ " Kate said.

"Good sign of what?" Kara asked sceptically.

" _That some of my people are alive and trying to get away. But they need time for catch them and clean up the mess._ " Kate said.

"You're speculating." Kara said as she needed to know how much was usable intel.

" _Yep, but what I said about Tom's plane and my building are true. You still coming for dinner?_ " Kate asked her.

"Yes, Frankie and I will be there." Kara said with a wry smile as they hopped from a serious topic to dinner plans like this was completely normal but she knew Kate was just as stressed out as she was. So she tried to keep everything frothy and light with Kate.

" _Good, I have a bassinet set up so Frankie can conk out whenever she wants_." Kate assured her, Kara appreciated the foresight and preparation.

"Ok, I'll see you later and thank you." Kara said.

" _No problem. Take care now_." Kate said before she hung up. Kara hung up her own phone and looked to Ravit and Frankie. Making a snap decision, she decided she was going to eat her lunch she'd missed out on 3 hours ago and pretend for 15 minutes that everything was normal and ok because she knew in half an hour shit would hit the fan.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

It was near 5:30am and the sun was just rising, when Jesse parked the truck at small marina that looked like it was used more by the local fishermen and Junk boat owners.

"Peng's got patrols all over these waters. This is how she keeps it off the radar." Sasha told Tom as they hopped out of Jesse's car which she had parked at the local fishermen's dock. Tom didn't miss that Sasha's friend Jesse had pulled a yellow plastic suitcase marked as the cure, it had the usual stamps of Lassiter Industries and US Navy on the sides of it which confirmed a few suspicions he had rolling in his head.

"Once we get to Hong Kong Island, I have a van stashed on the other side. Let's hope for your sake it's still there." Jesse told them as she headed down the ramp towards one of the boats where an elderly Asian man looked to be prepping to launch.

"For your sake, too." Wolf argued as he followed her down the ramp to the floating pier where the boat was docked.

"Doesn't bother me. I got nothing to live for." Jesse assured him, Wolf caught her by the arm and she turned to face him.

"Well, hey, we've all lost pretty much everything. And if you really want to hurt Peng, this should be the only thing that matters to you." Wolf told her. Jesse rolled her eyes at him. After the last few hours of driving nonsensical circles to lose the MSS off their trail, she was done with their holy than thou attitudes about how they had to save the world. Did they not realise that she knew the song and dance, she was just finished with it. She pulled her arm out his grip and turned to the old man who owned the boat.

"Hey." she called out to the old man.

Tom looked down at Jesse watching as she spoke to the old man in Chinese and handed him the case that he knew had to contain doses of the cure. He looked to Sasha and blocked her path down to the ramp.

"Back at the apartment, you asked me to wait in the hall. You were trying to get to her first to keep her quiet. It wasn't just food and fuel before Peng. It was cure. And it was well after Peng while you were working as a diplomat." Tom said, he didn't know why but it pissed him off that Sasha would one be so reckless with her personal safety but two; endanger Sino-American relations by acting so cavalier.

"I stopped a few weeks ago when I thought it might be getting too hot. She's been pissed at me ever since." Sasha confessed as she knew at some point Jesse was going to tell Tom everything even if it was inadvertently. The woman seemed to develop a death wish which meant running her mouth about nearly everything.

"Does Rivera know? The President?" Tom asked her as he was trying to piece it all together in his head.

"No, of course not. I would never jeopardize them like that. They needed deniability, and it's not like I even could've told them anyway. You know there's no secure comms from Hong Kong to the States." Sasha argued defending herself as she could see that Tom was trying to make sense of what was going on and to point the finger of blame at someone just like he always did. Right now he was just setting it up to blame her which was so typical of him.

"But Kate's been helping you two." Tom said as he saw the labels and was trying to see how much Kate knew about this. Sasha folded her arms and in that instant he knew she was protecting Kate.

"Lassiter Industries has been experiencing shrinkage issues in Hong Kong and on Mainland China. I was helping Anna and Kate investigate it on this end." Sasha offered dressing the truth in a lie. Tom made a scoffing noise as he shook his head at her not believing and she'd give him that. Kate and Anna knew what she and Jesse were doing and covered it up for Sasha, they didn't care about the missing stock as they knew it was going to the places where people needed it the most.

"Unbelievable. She can't just stick it to Michener on the home front she just had to branch out internationally." Tom said wryly as he was surprised he didn't see pick up on it sooner. He just wondered what Kate's war room looked like as she seemed to be playing a long game as much as anyone else.

"I have no idea what you're talking about but she doesn't know that I'm your sister or that I was stealing from her." Sasha told him, defending Kate as she hated how he made it seem like one big conspiracy but yet had all the players in the wrong places.

"Yeah right." Tom said not believing her as Kate and Anna were too sharp to not know what was going on given they were playing a long game. He didn't know what they trying to gain from it but he could see Peng being pissed about being usurped by the women banding together and thumbing their nose at his regime and his hoarding of the cure.

"Tom-"

"You do realize that this may be why my people got hit." Tom pointed out to her, he knew it was unfair to pin it on her but it was the only thing that made sense out of all he'd learned in the past few hours.

"You think Vietnam was retribution for what I've been doing with Jesse?" Sasha asked incredulously.

"My plane, too." Tom added, Sasha shook her head in disbelief.

"If Peng knew anything about this, he would've strung me out by my balls the second he found out." Sasha assured him, she already had her suspicions about what was going on and it had nothing to do with what she and Jesse had been up to.

"Like you said, he plays the long game and he was gonna kill you as soon as I took off." Tom argued.

"Look, I'm sorry about your people, Tom. but I promise you there is something much bigger going on here than me and that girl smuggling cure across the borders." Sasha told him in a firm tone as she was not going to blamed for this or put up with his attitude of thinking he knew everything.

"Right and I guess you're going to explain that to me." Tom said snidely.

"Not now when you're like this." Sasha told him. Tom made a scoffing noise at her like it was incredulous that she take the high road after confessing to stealing from Lassiter Industries and who else to give to the people Peng was ignoring.

"Tell me Sasha, are there any other exes in Kowloon or on Hong Kong Island we should be picking up along the way?" Tom asked her. Sasha narrowed her eyes at him as she knew he was pissed off at not being the centre of attention and in the know.

"Go fuck yourself Tom." Sasha told him scathingly before she pushed past him and headed down the ramp.

* * *

"Get out of it." Lena told Kate as she stole a piece of carrot from the baking dish and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Ah hot- hot" Kate complained as she covered her mouth and waved her other hand like it would magically cool down the molten hot piece of carrot in her mouth. Lena shook her head and watched incredulously as Kate refused to spit out the hot food to save her mouth but persevered.

"You're worse than Zoe. Don't you have work to do?" Lena told her as she got Kate a glass of water. Kate took the water on offer and downed half it. It seemed to help as Kate stopped her weird dance.

"I'm waiting for a phone call." Kate told her as she blew out a breath, she burnt part of her tongue but it had been worth it as she was starving. She made a mental note to buy more snacks besides fruit. She needed something with substance to it.

"The lawyer say we have a good case?" Lena asked her as she continued preparing the Mexican vegetable ragout for dinner. Anna and Tex had left for the evening while Val seemed completely entrenched in the study rattling away on her laptops. Lena wasn't going ask what she was doing but already made up one of the guest bedrooms for the woman.

"He's going to look into it and liaise with CPS for us. He wasn't too optimistic given past history but I don't pay him to be optimistic." Kate told her.

"True." Lena said.

"What I want to know is why Maddy and Zoe wouldn't tell us this was going on. I know for a fact those beans came from here, and where was Christina?" Kate asked Lena in a low voice as Zoe was at the dinner table colouring in a picture book with pencils. Zoe had exhausted Scout who was currently under her chair having a snooze.

"Well, with Zoe you have to ask the right the questions. Maddy, I don't know but I do know Christina could've just gone next door to Jed and Rachel's to ask them to watch the kids while she went wherever she did. I know neither of them would have minded." Lena said.

"Mike's going to be pissed off about all of this." Kate groaned as she dropped her head into her hands. She hated the position she was in and how it all felt like a house of cards waiting to fall over.

"It's not on you. You did your best, just cause you got more money than God doesn't mean you can get what you want. Right now, he's got his own problems to deal with one of them is making sure he gets home. Ours is to make sure we do our damnedest to give those girls a good home and keep you from keeling over." Lena told her in a low voice as she hated how Kate believed it was up to her to fix everything or how she thought that she was the failure for when things went sideways. She hated how Christina purposefully tore apart the girls' world for her ego as she was jealous of Kate and her money. It was all ridiculous and only the innocent people were getting hurt.

"I know but what are we going to tell the girls?" Kate asked referring to Mike's current state.

"We only tell them when we have to. Right now we know nothing that will help them. What will help them is getting them away from Christina and back into a stable and healthy environment." Lena told her.

"You're right." Kate said to her. She knew she would stress less when she was able to delegate the problems to people who were better equipped to handle them. It was how she functioned as CEO with Anna. They didn't pretend to know much except how to hire the right people and retain them.

"Now, you drink this." Lena said, she opened the fridge and pulled out a plastic bottle filled with some sort of green smoothie. Kate watched as Lena poured some into a glass and fought her gag reflex as green lumps plopped into the glass.

"Do I have to?" Kate asked her.

"It's full of iron and other goodies your body needs." Lena informed her in a authoritative tone.

"It looks chockas of something a lot worse." Kate told her as she eyed the glass warily, Lena smiled and placed the glass in front of Kate.

* * *

"So, I hear you're quite a pilot. How long till we meet this helo of yours?" Tom asked Jesse, he knew he was being a bit of dick by probing into Sasha's past but he wanted to know more about the woman they were all trusting with their lives. He could feel Sasha's annoyance and anger roll off her in waves beside her in the back seat of the truck.

"You're getting a little impatient. You know, I had other plans for myself today." Jesse informed Tom in a casual manner that belied her annoyed state as she was beginning to see why Sasha had come to her. Tom Chandler was a real pushy asshole. Made her wish she had more cigarettes as she needed something to help take the tension out of her body.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's this?" Wolf asked, Jesse stopped the struck mid left turn at the 'Whoa' and pulled her attention from Tom to see a military checkpoint with a queue of cars. They were searching the cars with sniffer dogs and harassing the drivers. It was nothing new as they were looking for contraband and shaking down the locals for their valuables.

"Welcome to Hong Kong Island." Jesse said drily as she was surprised they hadn't encountered one before. Though the checkpoint here was new given this was one of her routes to avoid said check points.

"I've never seen a checkpoint here." Sasha said from the back seat.

"It's for us." Tom told them, the condemnation in his tone was unmissable. Jesse was half tempted to turn around in her seat and tell him to stop being such a petulant asshole and come up with a solution but given how straight laced and well groomed he was; she highly doubted he'd have the imagination to think his way out of a paper bag.

"Well, we need to get through it." Jesse said stating the obvious.

* * *

"Tabe-yo, Tabe-yo." The man said Mike pegged as the leader, he was definitely Japanese. "Eat. Eat! Eat!" the man translated to them as guards came in with plates of food. Mike took the plate shoved at him and felt his stomach gurgle in hunger at the scent of the steak on the plate. All it was missing was some chips and gravy but it made him hesitant to eat it.

Once they all had a plate of food in their hands, the guards exited and the head honcho stood at the open door looking at them like they were the entertainment.

"Filet mignon and apricots?" Miller said looking at the plate in confusion, he'd never been a prisoner before but he was pretty sure they weren't supposed to be served steak and the apricots was just weird. Especially for Breakfast.

"When they took me to the bathroom before, I could see the rest of their crew. They were eating beans out of a can." Garnett told them in a low voice. Mike looked to his plate and had contemplated taking the first bite but Diaz to his left vomited yet again, putting Mike right off eating as the stench of fresh vomit mixed in with the scent of the steak.

He was starting to wonder if there was some cosmic agenda trying to turn him into a vegan by ruining his taste for meat. As the steak didn't look quite as appealing as before.

"Sorry, guys." Diaz said before he went for a second round. Mike cringed as it wasn't pretty and his stomach rolled in a bad way.

"We got to get him some fluids." Rios said, Mike looked to the man who seemed to be in charge.

"He needs water." Mike told him, the man just stood in his place watching him. "Water." Mike repeated he used what he felt was the universal hand gesture for 'drinking' hoping it would translate when he secretly wished he'd learned Japanese, it wasn't like he wouldn't use it because if he'd learnt it then he could have eavesdropped on Kate and Anna's conversations.

"Yeah, a little clean-up wouldn't hurt, either. " Miller added, something Mike agreed with given Diaz couldn't seem to control his stomach and it was smelt like a bad Saturday night at the crustiest of bars.

"Water. Huh?" Mike tried again, wondering why they couldn't be picked up Pirates who spoke their language.

"Sou ka na..." The man drawled in a patronising manner, like he was giving it some real thought before he barked a sharp order and the rifle safety's were disengaged.

"What are you doing?" Miller asked, the guards came into the small cage and grabbed Diaz by the hair yanking him to his feet.

"Hey, Hey!" Mike barked as the others voiced their protest.

"What are you doing?" Jeter demanded.

"Leave this kid alone. He's a kid!" Garnett shouted as the guard who had Diaz by the hair yanked on the Kid's hair making him wince in pain as they pulled him out.

"He just wants water!" Mike said to the head man who quietly watched it all not even ruffled by their protest. None of them had moved or shown any hostility to warrant such treatment.

"Leave him alone!He's just a kid!" Rios shouted. They watched completely helpless as Diaz was pulled out of the room and away into the ship. They all quietened down their protests knowing it was useless.

"We take your man to get fresh air. Now... you eat." The head man told them in very well spoken English. The door to the cage was closed, and the guards backed off. Mike shook his head as they were the fools for underestimating their captors, they used the language barrier as weapons against them which meant Mike and the others couldn't speak candidly at all.

* * *

"Sir, I'm on the phone with Pearl Harbor. They can't find the plane anywhere on their radar. It's not answering their radio calls, either." Kara said with Michener came into the room. Kate was right, the time had elapsed and they still hadn't reached Tom. They also had no new information crop up at all. It made Kara wonder why they were keeping all the staff past 5pm when there was nothing to do but wait.

It wasn't like any of them were earning overtime, something that really irked Kara as she had been in the military for the love of country and knew signing up she'd not earn a lot but she was given many benefits in return which outweighed it. She knew she should feel the same sense of honour working for the President but that same love for her job wasn't there. Maybe it was the leader that was the problem since Tom Chandler and Mike Slattery did set the bar high. While they both weren't the easiest bosses to work for they did recognize their subordinates and

"Mr. President, there's an incoming call from Hong Kong. It's President Peng." Allison said from the main table. Michener moved to Allison and took the phone from her hand.

"President Peng." Michener said, as he perched himself on the table. He watched as the room stilled and all eyes were on him.

" _Mr. President, I understand it is late there, so I am sorry to add to your troubles in Vietnam._ " Peng told him.

"No. No. Do you have some news for us?" Michener asked him, hoping the man had something they could use given they had nothing come through the diplomatic channels for hours.

What was worse was that it was at a point that they needed to take some sort of move, one which Michener didn't want to make given he couldn't see anything they did now not being interpreted poorly by their counterparts and the civilians given he knew they wanted nothing to do with the Asian region when there was too much to be done in the US.

 _"I'm afraid I do. It seems that Captain Chandler's plane had some very serious engine trouble as it tried to take off from our airport. Unfortunately, the plane went down_." Peng told him.

"Plane went down? Are there any survivors?" Michener asked, he saw Kara wore a neutral expression while Allison and Alex looked shocked. He could already hear their answers and advice.

" _We are searching the waters now... but we are not hopeful."_ Peng told Michener.

"We walked right into this." Alex muttered in disgust.

" _It is certainly suspicious, Mr. President, with what happened in Vietnam. As I have told you, there are many rogue elements operating in the region. We suspected pirates at first, but your pilot radioed in with engine trouble. We are sending the transmission now between your pilot and our air traffic control._ " Peng told him.

"Yes. Obviously, we'd very much like to hear that recording." Michener said, he watched as Kara moved over to where Dennis their IT man was sitting and spoke quietly to him.

" _I assure you we will conduct a thorough investigation and keep you fully informed._ " Peng told him.

"Well, we appreciate that, President Peng, and we will speak soon." Michener said as he hung up the phone.

"You're not buying that, are you?" Alex asked him incredulously.

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions, and neither should anyone in this room." Michener ordered, he looked to Kara. "Let's hear that transmission." Michener told her.

* * *

Sasha was uncomfortably curled up in the small space where the spare tyre and jack in the boot of Jesse with her gun in hand ready for trouble. She couldn't hear much over the noise of the rumbling engine of the vehicle but she did know they were at the checkpoint given how long Jesse had been idling in the one place. She really hoped they would get moving as she was getting the worst cramp in the back of her thigh.

She felt the back end of the truck jolt and her stomach drop in the shock as she knew the boot was being opened. She switched off the safety of her gun and waited. She heard the tapping and took a slow exhale as she knew the soldier was tapping the cover lid to where Sasha was hiding. She then heard the soldier grip the edge to cover and light begin to fill her vision as he lifted the cover. Sasha knew they were toast so she sprung to action and pushed the cover lid up with one arm and shot the soldier in front her. He fell back onto the ground and Sasha shot the next soldier that had jumped out his vehicle to help his friends.

Once he was down, Sasha rolled out of the boot and turned to Tom, ready to jump back into Jesse truck and continue on as she could see they had gotten all the soldiers. Tom walked around the side of the truck and rose his weapon at her.

"Get down!" Tom shouted at her. Sasha turned around out of reflex and saw the first soldier she shot rise to his feet but before he could rise his weapon; she shot him in the neck. He dropped the ground dead as the shot severed his spinal cord.

"Jesus, Sasha. I said get down." Tom shouted angrily at her. She gave him an incredulous look.

"And I heard you." Sasha told him annoyed as she didn't get what he was pissed about. The soldiers were dead. Wolf came around to there side and killed the last soldier who was still breathing.

"Hey, one of you is going to have to move on of the cars." Jesse told them.

"I'll do it." Tom said, he looked to Sasha like she were a recalcitrant child. "You get in the car." he ordered her.

"What a dick." Jesse said in casual observation when Sasha jumped into the front passenger seat while Wolf sat in the back.

* * *

"It only feels like last week we were under that arch; spreading the cure." Michener said as he stood by the window and looked out at the view.

"It's possible Peng's lying." Kara said as she sat awkwardly in the guest chair opposite Michener's desk in his office. What made it awkward was that she for once knew more than Michener and frankly she didn't know why she was in his office. She had cleaned up her desk and they had nothing further from the Chinese Government besides the transmission they heard earlier. There was nothing for her to do yet there was this silent message of no one was leaving until they did something. Kat

"You heard the transmission from the cockpit." Michener told her as he turned away from the window and looked at her, "Our Air Force captain confirmed the voices." he added. Kara nodded but couldn't help but add her two cents.

"I realise this but they haven't given us permission or offered us a chance to send over a team to fully investigate the wreckage." Kara said, given Michener brought her in to be a sounding board she wasn't going to waste time but also hoped he would get ticked off at her and dismiss her so she could go home and change. Maybe spend some time with Frankie before heading to Kate's.

"They have people on it. I actually brought you in because I not only wanted to share my thoughts but offer you a bit of a promotion." Michener said to her.

"Sir?" Kara asked in confusion, she'd only been on the job for 4 weeks. She highly doubted she earned a promotion.

"To be my Senior Military Advisor as well as maintaining your current role as my Deputy Chief of Staff. With Tom presumed dead, I need someone to step into the role." Michener said, Kara felt disappointed as the offer wasn't exactly well suited for her. Yes, she could do the job but she felt given she was no longer an active member of the military it wasn't really suitable for her. She also could think of several men and women who were in St Louis who were active members of the Military and of a higher rank that should be given the job.

"Sir, with respect. You should be giving the job to one of the other higher ranking military officers in St Louis or flying down someone from Norfolk." Kara informed him in a gentle manner. Michener looked to her with what she interpreted to be a mix of patronization and patience.

"I want you, you know the Nathan James and the people. You were a member of the crew. You also know the people here and how to work effectively within my system. I also don't need a new person coming in right now with this current crisis. It will also mean longer hours." Michener told her.

"Sir-" Kara started but Michener cut her off.

"I know it's a hard ask but remember you serve at my pleasure." Michener reminded her. Kara fought to keep a neutral expression as she hated how he pulled out the cliché lines because to her working in his office wasn't for his pleasure. In fact she had negotiated hard for her contract and hours. The hours she wasn't willing to sacrifice unless they were going to be used to help people. Sitting around waiting for more information and for Michener to make a decision was not worth it. It was just frustrating and annoying as she knew he wasn't offering her any benefits for the new role.

"I don't mind filling the role for this current time but I will only work extra hours when it's necessary. I'm not going to sit here when there's nothing for me to do or advise you on." Kara told him, she refused to have him run roughshod over her as she was prepared for him to use Danny's status as MIA to keep her here. But she couldn't stay here waiting, she needed to be around friends and family. She needed to get some sleep.

"I need you to stay back tonight." Michener told her.

"The Nathan James is at EMCON and waiting for support we haven't sent. We haven't received any new information. So unless you change your mind about sending the ships then I've got nothing further to advise you on." Kara told him.

"I won't change my mind. The ships stay in Okinawa." Michener told her.

"Are you at least going to inform the Chandler family about the CNO's death?" Kara asked him. Michener shook his head.

"No, we need more information and I want to give Peng time to find his remains." Michener said to her, she saw it as a more stall tactics which wasn't fair on Rachel and Tom's family especially given it was only a matter of time before news broke of it.

"What about asking Kate Lassiter and Anna Hatake for help. They have offices in Hong Kong. They might have people in the Asian region who could help us find out more details." Kara suggested to him, she really wanted him to bring Kate into the fold given she probably knew more than them now and it could help them.

"No," Michener shook his head. "She can't find out. So I'll remind you that you signed a non disclosure." Michener told her, reminding her that she was legally bound to keep her mouth shut. She felt insulted by the insinuation that she would spill state secrets. But then she was tempted to do so with Kate. She wanted Danny and the others to come home alive and they weren't doing enough because they had their hands tied by the international treaties that had been set in place for decades.

"I remember." Kara assured him.

"So you can't tell her about Captain Slattery or the others. Nothing leaves this office." Michener told her.

"What if she approaches me with information we can use?" Kara asked him.

"Has she?" Michener asked looking at her suspiciously.

"No, but if she knew what was going then she'd want to help and her resources are more extensive than ours." Kara told him, adding to her arguement that they needed to join forces with Kate. It seemed so stupid to her that they didn't utilise whatever Kate could give them.

"We don't need her help." Michener told her firmly.

* * *

"Kate," Anna said as she came out of the study into the living area. She only took a moment to stop and give Tex an odd look as he was in the kitchen helping Lena with Dinner.

"Yeah?" Kate asked as she looked up from the story she was reading with Zoe on the lounge.

"You have a phone call being redirected from the offices." Anna told her.

"Who is it?" Kate asked her, wondering if it was worth getting off the lounge and escaping the torture of 'llama, llama, red pyjama'. She hated the stories given she'd read them way too many times but she did like the quiet moments of bonding with Zoe and watching her brain take it in. Maybe soon the girl would know the book by rote and wouldn't need Kate to read it.

"Peng." Anna told her.

"Who's Peng?" Zoe asked.

"A friend. Why don't you see if Tex or Nanna will read finish the book with you." Kate told her as she closed the book and handed the book to her.

"Tex says it all wrong." Zoe informed her, Kate smiled as it was only Tex's accent that made him sound like he was telling the story wrong.

"Then Nanna?" Kate offered.

"I guess so. Will you be long?" Zoe asked her.

"Don't know, but we can always read it later tonight before you go to sleep." Kate said making a compromise.

"Ok." Zoe said in a long suffering tone. Kate chuckled and kissed Zoe on forehead before she pulled herself off the lounge and followed Anna back into the study.

"So, who did you tick off for the China's Kahuna to call me?" Kate asked Anna.

"I may have pushed some buttons about you being upset." Anna said in an exaggerated manner. Kate wore a wry smile as she and Anna went to the two phones in the room and picked up the receivers simultaneously.

"President Peng, I'm surprised by the honour of your call." Kate said in fluent Mandarin, she looked to Anna who held her thumb up indicating she was listening in.

"Please, the pleasure is mine Ms Lassiter. I know it's been many months since we last spoke. I apologise for the lapse and the hour of which I'm calling." Peng replied keeping to his native tongue. They could easily converse in English but Peng seemed to have a crush on Kate's voice when they spoke in Mandarin. She knew this when he didn't make any snide comments about her butchering his language.

"Please call me Kate and there's nothing to forgive. You're a leader and your people needed you. May I ask why you are calling me? Is something wrong?" Kate asked, with Peng every conversation was all about stroking his ego and appearing submissive to him. Pretending to desire his approval and making him think that her ideas were his; letting him take credit. It just made life easier that way, as her Grandfather told her it was easier to trap flies with honey than vinegar.

"Yes, I'm afraid I bear bad news." Peng paused and Kate looked to Anna who was listening in, "I've been informed that pirates have taken 6 sailors from the Nathan James in Vietnam." Peng told her.

"Oh my goodness, does President Michener know?" Kate asked pretending to be shocked.

"Of course he does, but he doesn't respect you unlike I. If he did, you would know what I'm about to tell you. Now I wanted you know because you have shown my country and it's people great kindness and generosity." Peng told her.

"I thank you, do you know who was taken and by which pirates?" Kate asked.

"I do, my people are sending you a transmission with all the information we have. I also regretfully have to inform you that your offices in Hong Kong was burnt to the ground. I do not think this is an accident either which is why I've closed our borders until the region has settled." Peng told her, Anna rolled her eyes as if to say 'No shit Sherlock'.

"I know about the building fire, I should apologise for my partner Anna. She's in charge of personnel over there. So I apologise is was rude." Kate said, Anna flipped her the bird which made Kate smile as she had to play the game. Diplomacy wasn't always about telling the truth and finding a compromise.

"It is fine, I'd feel the same if it were my people. Regretfully, four bodies have been recovered. I'm told they were Australian Nationals. So with your permission, I'd like to have my people escort their remains back to Australia." Peng told her.

"I would gratefully appreciate it, I'll make sure a representative from my company meets them in Australia." Kate told him.

"Of course, I'll make sure my people contact yours when the time comes." Peng said.

"I was wondering while I had you on the phone. Do you know if Captain Chandler is still in Hong Kong. I'm sure he could escort the remains back to US and save your people the time." Kate said as politely as she could. She wanted to know what his response was.

"Sadly, his plane had engine trouble and crashed shortly after take off from Lantau Island." Peng informed her.

"It's a bad day for us all." Kate said in a deeply saddened manner.

"Indeed." Peng agreed. "Now, I have to attend to State business. I just wanted to share my news and information with you. I hope that in your endeavours that you keep in contact with my people." he said though it was more of a subtle order.

"Of course, as I hope you do the same with me. I want to recover the missing sailors as much as you. Thank you for your time Mr President." Kate told him subtly wrapping the conversation to an end.

"You're welcome." Peng said, he hung up the phone. Kate and Anna hung up on their end just in time as Anna made gagging noise.

"God, how far up his ass were you planning to go?" Anna asked Kate mockingly as a conversation with Peng always left them feeling incredibly slimy.

"I think I nearly saw light this time." Kate quipped in good humour.

"He said he sent a transmission to us, I want it isolated on our system and removed to a computer not attached to our servers." Anna said to Val who was at the desk looking at them waiting for orders.

"That was my thoughts exactly." Val told them as she wasn't open anything from the Chinese government on either of their company servers. It would mean she'd have to buy an air gapped computer before she touched the message sent to them. But at least for now Val could isolate the files downloaded in their servers.

"What do you think he's playing at?" Anna asked Kate as she folded her arms and looked at her.

"I don't know but it doesn't sit well with me that he'd just hand over information and tell me what he did without him wanting me to react and do something." Kate told Anna and Val.

"Like what?" Val asked her.

"I don't know, but Kara should be here with Ravit and Frankie. So maybe we should call it quits for now." Kate told them as she saw the time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

"Sit tight, kids. Be back in a jiff." Jesse said as she jumped out of the vehicle and headed over to open the gates to a power substation where she stored her Helo.

"We left a lot of bodies back there. How long till MSS is on our trail?" Tom asked Sasha, she kept her eyes looking to the front window watching Jesse as she moved debris out of the way to get the gates open.

The last 12 hours had been an utter mess and she frankly couldn't wait for it all to be over and away from her brother, away from Jesse, away from everything. But it wasn't a luxury she had as she knew her brother would need her to help him find his missing people in Hai Phong as he had no clue the shit storm of a world he was entering into.

"Checkpoints send reports every half hour. When Peng doesn't hear from them, he'll send reinforcements." Sasha told Tom, they both knew that meant the MSS could come at any time as they had no clue of when the checkpoint had last called in.

"This is an irradiated zone." Wolf said as Jesse uncovered a sign that was half written in Mandarin except it had the universal symbol used for Poison with the Skull and crossbones and the symbol for Nuclear waste. What was written in English announced Danger and to warn people off trespassing as they'd be prosecuted under Chinese Law.

"There's a nuclear power plant six miles inland." Sasha told them, she could feel the shock and anger as they were unwittingly exposing themselves to radiation. At least Sasha knew. It wasn't like she was going to have kids anytime soon but she figured their delicate male egos were suffering at the thought of becoming infertile let alone the other health risk that came with exposure.

"And there was a leak?" Tom asked her in a careful tone. Sasha didn't appreciate the tone but knew he wasn't wrong in asking the question but it sounded like he was going to snap and yell at her.

"More of a meltdown few months back. No one could sustain the safety protocols." Sasha said in a nonchalant manner, she didn't need to turn her head to know what Tom was thinking or know his expression. For a man who wanted off Hong Kong and into Hai Phong. He certainly was judgemental of the journey.

"So this is where she keeps her helo?" Tom asked Sasha, she took a slow inhale and exhale as she really wanted to turn around and give him a sarcastic retort of 'Where do you think she should hide a Helicopter? in her penthouse apartment?' but she kept it to herself as she was going to get Tom to Hai Phong and then find her own way in the world.

"Takes nine minutes to get in there. Gives us 11 minutes to get the bird in the air before the radiation kills us." Sasha informed him in a professional manner instead of answering his original question.

"11 minutes?" Tom asked incredulously.

"More or less." Sasha offered in an exhausted tone as Jesse pushed the wire gates open and raced back to truck to drive them in.

* * *

"Aunty Kara!" Zoe said as she and Tex opened the door to find Kara on the doorstep with Frankie in her arms. Ravit was just parking her car.

"Zoe, how are you?" Kara said to the little girl as she shared a smile with Tex who held the door open with Zoe. Kara had to wonder where Kate was given she could only see Lena and Kat in the kitchen cooking. From the front door, Kara could already smell the delicious scent of dinner. The anger, tension and stress she'd been carrying since she left work faded to the background at the distraction of good food and people she knew.

"I'm good. We have a puppy. His name is Scout." Zoe told her, Kara smiled at the little girl's enthusiasm.

"Wow, that's great. Where is he?" Kara asked as she was surprised the puppy hadn't raced out to greet the new visitors.

"He's outside doing business with the grass." Zoe informed her in a matter of fact tone.

"Ok." Kara said with a chuckle as she had to admit it was a strange turn of phrase for a 5 year old to say.

"That's what Kate says but really he's going potty on the grass. It's so gross." Zoe said making a face, Kara chuckled as it now made sense.

"Children are such treasures." Tex said to Kara as he playfully pulled on the little girl's braid.

"Something I'm learning." Kara said diplomatically as she didn't know how to answer to that comment.

"May I help you with anything?" Tex offered.

"Sure." Kara said with a smile, She passed Frankie out of her arms into his. She knew she could of given him the diaper bag but she just liked how Tex was with Frankie. Frankie loved Tex, but then he'd been around to help her when he could after Danny deployed. He smiled brought the baby girl level with his face.

"Hello Frankie, how are you?" Tex asked her, Frankie poked her tongue out at him repeatedly and reached out her hands wanting to grab onto his beard. Frankie was always fascinated by his facial hair but Tex had learnt his lesson well last week to not let Frankie get her fingers tangled in it.

"She's doing that a lot." Kara told him

"Ah she's just learning how to use her muscles. Aren't you cutie?" Tex said as he poked his tongue out at Frankie which earned him a shocked look. He chuckled and placed Frankie on his hip and one arm around her waist in a confident and casual manner like he held babies all the time. While Frankie just looked around them quizzically not sure of what to make of them all as Tex poking his tongue at her had befuddled her. It made Kara's heart yearn for Danny to be safe as she wanted him to come home and be a family with them. To catch up on Frankie and her developments, her personality; the gorgeous smile she gave. All the things that Kara wanted him to see in person not in a photo.

"So where is Kate?" Kara asked pushing the thoughts of what Danny was missing out on as she stepped into the house, as Ravit came in with them. She said her hello's as she headed straight for her room to dump her bags and get comfortable.

"In the study doing secret women's business." Tex said with a shrug as he wasn't perturbed at being left out of the circle. She was sure he knew what was going on as she didn't miss the glint of empathy in his gaze.

"Right." Kara said as she was surprised Tex wasn't in there offering advice but she highly doubted Kate and Anna could do anymore than Michener at this point. But she was curious to see what they had.

"How was work?" Tex asked changing the topic.

"It was work." Kara said in a noncommittal manner. She was glad she was here surrounded with friends as she knew if she stayed home she would be a crying mess as she thought about Danny and if he died. She didn't want to go to that head space.

"Not so much fun anymore?" Tex asked hitting the proverbial nail on the head.

"Let's just say I've had better days. How about you?" Kara asked as she hadn't seen him in the last couple days. He tended to pop into her world sporadically which was great because for some reason he stopped for a visit just when she needed someone who knew Danny.

"Great, I had my lovely assistant here help me today." Tex said as he looked to Zoe. Kara looked to the little girl who looked proud to be given title of 'Assistant'.

"I got to hand out papers and teach people how to be outside distractions." Zoe informed her in a manner as if her job was incredibly vital work and the people around her were utter morons. It was adorable to see a 5 year old putting on the airs of an adult.

"No, you taught them how to ignore distractions." Tex corrected Zoe.

"I got to use my outdoor voice inside and didn't get in trouble once." Zoe told Kara as they moved further into the house towards the kitchen area.

"But remember kiddo, it's only in my classroom you can do that." Tex reminded her, Kara wore a bemused smile as she could only imagine what Tex and Zoe had been up to in that classroom. Terrorising his students with a noisy little girl.

"Uhuh." Zoe said with a nod.

"I feel sorry for your students." Kara said to Tex in a low voice. The man gave a chuckle not apologetic in the least.

"I wouldn't, they'll be the best cadets ever produced." Tex said with amusement to her.

"Kara," Lena said in greeting as she and Kat were messing in the Kitchen still making sure dinner was all ready to go. Kara still couldn't get used to how much coming over for dinner to Kate's felt like coming home for thanksgiving in the movies was like.

"Hey Lena, Kat." Kara said greeting them at the breakfast bar. "You all got quite a spread here." she said as her mouth watered at the sight of all the food on bench. There were two different types of salad, brown rice, Mexican vegetable ragout and something that Kara assumed to be meatloaf. All of it smelt delicious.

"I hope you brought your appetite." Lena said with a smile.

* * *

"You stole a Chinese army helo?" Wolf asked as they had parked the truck and pulled their gear from the back they'd pilfered from the checkpoint and followed Jesse to find her Helo. Sasha felt her pulse jump into the notch of her collarbone and beat in a nauseous manner. She just hoped she kept her stomach a little longer as vomiting before her brother would just crush what little ego she had left.

"We're in China. What did you expect?" Jesse asked in a dry manner as they rushed over to the Helo. Sasha couldn't help but smile as she loved Jesse's dry humour, the woman was gruff and unshakeable. It was an enviable trait that Sasha wished she had. That and her apathy, she just hated that they had parted ways badly and now Jesse blamed her for her brother and friends' deaths.

"What's the range on this thing?" Tom asked her.

"About 700 miles." Jesse told him.

"Just enough to get us to close to Hai Phong. " Sasha told Tom, she slowed her pace as she felt bile rise into her mouth. She placed a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes taking a moment.

"Depending on the winds." Jesse said in a sceptical tone that said she wasn't optimistic of them making it to Hai Phong before she jumped into the cockpit of the Helo. Tom didn't care as long as they got out of Hong Kong, he turned to Sasha and saw she had grown pale.

"You okay?" Tom asked as he noticed her. She felt him cup her elbow and wished he'd kept his hand to himself as he jolted her sensitive system.

"Just a bit nauseous." Sasha told him, though she knew she was about 15 seconds away from painting the pavement. They needed to hurry up.

"Might be a good idea we get out of here." Tom said as Sasha brushed away his hand from her and moved to the back of the Helo and pulled herself in. She sank into the bucket seat with relief. Wolf sat in the back beside her and gave her a concerned look but she shook her head. Not wanting him to show concern for her or treat her like broken glass.

"All right, buckle up." Jesse told them.

"Grenade launchers?" Wolf asked as he saw the contents of her bag, Sasha couldn't help but smile as Wolf probably thought Jesse had packed clothes not guns.

"Can't be too careful." Jesse said as she turned the ignition key on the Helo. The engine sputtered and Jesse cursed as the battery light on the dash lit up.

"Oh, you're bloody kidding me." Wolf griped as he had leaned forward to see the light.

"Hotstart?" Tom asked her trying to find a solution to the problem.

"Well, that'd work if the engine had been running in the last 5 minuted and was hot." Jesse told him in a patronising manner as she used a hand and pushed Wolf's head out of the way as she reached into her bag, pulling out tools she handed one small pouch to Wolf.

"Get the battery and the alligator clips out of the car." Jesse told Wolf.

"You can't jump a 28-volt battery with 12 volts." Tom told Jesse as Wolf ran off to grab the car battery. Jesse paused and looked at him with a look he'd seen before from Kate. It was one that said 'How stupid do you think I am?' while also made him feel as if she was sizing up his intelligence and deeming him to come up short of her expectations.

"There's an old pickup on the other side of the generator." Jesse said deciding to ignore his observation and moving along with passing out instructions as she handed the other set of tools to Sasha. "We can use that. Go." she added, giving Sasha a look of concern. Sasha of course didn't stay to assure Jesse but instead jumped out of the back and headed to the old pick up as she knew exactly where it was.

She ran around the generator and went to the truck. She reached under the hood for the release button and when she felt it, she popped the bonnet and opened it. It barely took a couple minutes to disconnect the battery and pull it out of the engine. She then raced back to the Helo where Jesse had opened the engine compartment to jerry rig the jump start the engine needed.

"MSS is coming." Wolf told them as he placed the car battery and jumper cables he'd retrieved from the other car on the ground.

"You need a daisy chain?" Sasha asked Jesse as adrenaline coursed through her viens. It pushed the nausea she felt to the background as they had a task to distract them.

"Yeah." Jesse told her, Sasha and Tom went to work getting the batteries hooked up the Helo.

"I'll buy you some time." Wolf said as he snagged a grenade launcher and ran off to take on the MSS to give them enough time to jump start the helo.

"We're clear!" Tom shouted at Jesse as the last Alligator clip was put into place. Sasha and Tom immediately lifted their hands away as the electrical current from the batteries surged into the engine. But the rotor blades on the Helo barely turned and the engine sputtered.

"My turbines still aren't spinning fast enough." Jesse shouted as explosions sounded from where Wolf was. Tom and Sasha looked at the alligator clips trying to see what they could do to improve it. Sasha looked to Tom and saw him frown and reach forward and adjust an alligator clip's grip to the battery. The metal sparked which made them flinch back.

"Try it now!" Tom shouted, this time much to their relief the engine spurred to life and rotor blades oscillated at a higher pace. Sasha smiled in relief.

"I've got the generator online. Pull the pins and get your asses in here." Jesse shouted at them. Sasha didn't need to be told twice as she stood up a wave of nausea and dizziness washed through her body nearly bringing her to her knees. Tom noticed and stabilised with a hand on her elbow.

"Unhook the battery. I'll be fine." Sasha told him. He gave a nod and moved back to the engine compartment and disconnected the Alligator clips and shut the cover back over it. Sasha moved as quickly as she could to the back of the Helo. Tom jumped into the front and once Wolf was in the back with her, Jesse took the Helo into the air. Sasha sank back into her seat breathing slow and steady breaths to quell her nausea.

"You all right?" Wolf asked her.

"You don't happen to have a Geiger counter on you?" she joked weakly, she honestly didn't want to know the what the reading would've been anyway. All she cared about was keeping the sauvignon blanc, scotch and what little food she ate at the dinner at Peng's mansion down.

* * *

"Hey, Kara." Kate said as she welcomed Kara into the study.

"Wow." Kara said as she took in the room. It looked nearly identical to what they had in the Old Court House except there was more information on the boards as it included Lassiter Industries intel on top of what Kara knew from her day. She also saw Val at the desk working which was a relief as she knew Val would have no qualms in keeping her in the loop. he also didn't feel the same restraint to restricting information like Michener and his administration. So if Val and Kate found out something she'd know. She also couldn't help but notice the timeline was a little different as well as there were a couple more entries.

"I said the same thing." Kate said to her as she closed the door. Leaving Ravit, Tex, Lena, Kat and Zoe to themselves as they were getting dinner on to the table and chatting amongst themselves.

"You know basically everything that the President does and a bit more." Kara said, she knew she was breaking her non disclosure by saying as much but she needed advice and given Anna and Kate had military background; she knew they'd be able to give her a new perspective.

"Well, we have our ways." Anna drawled from the lounge in a mocking manner which Kara smiled at as she knew Anna wasn't picking on her but just being funny in general.

"You have a mole." Kara said as she knew it wasn't her. She liked that about Kate, she didn't blur the lines or ask her friends to break their own moral or ethical codes.

"I prefer to say Spy. It's much fancier." Kate joked dryly as she looked to the photos of the soldiers who were still MIA. Kara couldn't help but feel the same pull to the photos as Kate did. That same tug in their gut knowing the men they loved could potentially be dead and they wouldn't know for hours possibly days.

"Your offices in Hong Kong were attacked." Kara stated as she read the timeline board.

"By Pirates apparently." Kate drawled mockingly, Kara looked at her quizzically. "President Peng personally called me to inform me of the fire and relay intelligence about the missing sailors given he wants to retain a friendship with Lassiter Industries." she added.

"President Peng called you directly?" Kara asked, she was surprised that a leader like he would take time to call Kate to inform her of the situation when Michener was staying quiet. But then Kara knew that while Kate didn't run a country she did have power equal to a country leader if not more so as she wasn't controlled by a whole government body for every decision. She only had to adhere to the law and have all her licenses and certifications up to date; she was good. At least until Michener passed any more laws or tax reforms, something Kara knew were in the works.

"Yeah, I thought it strange too. So we're treating everything he gives us with caution. I feel he's playing us but I don't know how yet." Kate said reading Kara's expression as she was definitely suspicious of Peng's motives. She tended to think anything he did had a purpose and right now she felt he was trying to get her to prod Michener into action. A task, Kate knew to be futile.

"I got a promotion to be the President's Senior Military Adviser as well as keeping my current title as Deputy Chief of Staff." Kara said as she felt the need to share it with them. Not that it would help them any.

"Congratulations." Kate said with a smile.

"I only have it because he believes Tom is dead and doesn't want to work with a new person." Kara told her, she didn't like inheriting titles because someone died. She wanted to earn the promotion and it wasn't even that. Michener just wanted her to do the job of two people and at less pay. It really made her long for the old days of being in the Navy and under Tom's command as he appreciated his staff instead of taking them for granted.

"Shot down?" Kate asked wondering if they were on the same page but Kara shook her head.

"Engine trouble, we have the transmissions between the pilot and the tower at Lantau airport." Kara corrected her.

"Engine trouble," Kate said with a frown trying to figure out how MSS could make a plane crash not look like an assassination of the CNO.

"Probably strapped a bomb to a small quadcopter and flew it into the engine. It would of sounded like the engine sucked up a bird and then finished the job before the pilot could make the call." Anna said already thinking along the same lines as Kate as to figure out what truly happened.

"Or they cut out the 'Hey, there's a missile coming at us' from the tape. So yeah it would sound like a mechanical malfunction. Given Peng has closed the borders the US government won't be able to send in crash investigators. So they'd have to take Peng's word." Kate said looking to Anna.

"Or it really could have been engine trouble." Kara told them as what they were saying sounded insane and suggested there was some larger conspiracy going on. She couldn't imagine Peng trying to pick a fight with the US, they were equal in military power and resources.

"Engine trouble doesn't make a plane explode. The pilot could have easily shut down the engine extinguishing the fire and made a relatively safe landing. The planes are in good nick." Kate argued in such a manner that Kara believed what she said as Kara had to admit she didn't know anything about Avionics or Aviation in general to know for sure.

"Are you going to tell Rachel?" Kara asked Kate referring to Tom's possible demise. She saw how conflicted Kate was and part of her was relieved to see that in her as Michener was more worried about his image and proving he was in control.

"Not until I have something more solid like a rotting corpse or confirmation that he's been seen alive. MIA will just put her in the same limbo as we're in. She doesn't need it." Kate told Kara, something Kara had to agree with as she was struggling herself.

"That's disgusting graphic." Val said making a face as she continued to work on the computers in front of her.

"Honestly after all this time do you really think Tom couldn't survive a plane crash? He's too much of an a-hole to go that quietly." Kate told them.

"A plane crash isn't quiet." Kara argued in a wry manner.

"Ok, something so mundane. I'm putting my money down on him being crushed by hippo trying to save some orphan children while on a family safari about 10 years from now in Africa." Kate said correcting herself.

"Really?" Anna asked Kate.

"That had a lot of thought in it." Val quipped.

"Yep, I've been reading James Patterson 'Zoo' where the animals have this genetic mutation due to GMO crops that makes them all band together and hunt humans not for food but for sport." Kate told them.

"When have you had the time to read?" Anna asked her incredulously as she knew Kate spent most of her time working, sleeping or moping, not once had she seen a book in Kate's hands.

"Ok, I read the blurb." Kate confessed with a humourless smile.

"Crushed by a hippo." Kara said not sure whether to be amused or not by the idea but she had to agree even if it was silently. Tom Chandler being taken out in an air plane crash did seem mundane given he'd survived being electrocuted, a prisoner on a Russian vessel. Multiple tangles with the Immunes not to mention an oil rig explosion.

"The point is Rachel's, she's got too much on her plate with the twins and Tom's kids. I have nothing but hearsay, so I don't want to upset her only to have Tom pop up like a gopher from Caddyshack." Kate said.

"True." Kara said in agreement.

"Dinner time!" Lena shouted loudly enough that it filtered into the room. Kate looked to Kara knowing her pain of the unknown, worrying about the person they loved without being able do much of anything given there was little information to work with.

"If we get any information about Danny and the others, I'll let you know immediately ok?" Kate told her.

"Thank you." Kara said grateful that Kate told her that even if she didn't have to.

"Until then, if you want; you can crash here." Kate offered.

"I don't want to impose." Kara said eve if it was tempting as she knew she could brainstorm with Kate and the others about what they could do. They could share in the crisis so they didn't feel so alone in it all.

"You and Frankie being here is never an imposition. You're family and family is always welcome here." Kate promised her.

* * *

Mike leaned against the cage wall; looking out. Diaz was still gone. Mason hadn't returned and they were all stuck in the tiny cage waiting, wondering what to do given they could no longer guess where their captors were taking them. They seemed to be sailing in circles and without a view of the sky they'd never be able to determine where they were. The guards were smart enough to use their larger number to quell any idea of Mike and the others trying to make an escape. The language barrier crossed off trying to befriend one of them and get more answers. They were stuck and all Mike could think about was that it was his fault.

"Never should've gone to that stupid party. All the senior leadership off ship at the same time." Mike said speaking his thoughts as he folded his arms to hide the fact he was fiddling with his wedding ring. It was just reminding him of how he wasn't going to be home for a while and yet another failure to add on to the pile.

"We were on a diplomatic mission. Cameron is more than capable. Burk and Green will find them, and they'll find us." Jeter said. Mike wore a wry smile as Lt Commander Burk was too straight laced to go on a cowboy mission. He'd take the Nathan James 25 miles off the coast from Hai Phong and wait for orders. Orders that would take hours to come through because Michener liked to ponder over everything in a slow manner almost like he didn't want to make a decision as it'd absolve him of any responsibilities if things went south. But Mike kept his mouth shut as he knew it wouldn't help to tell them all that help wasn't coming until a ransom was sent out.

* * *

"Zoe, do not feed Scout from the table." Kate told Zoe, as a couple of peas skated across the floorboard which Scout chased after before licking it up and eating it.

"He's hungry." Zoe told her, Kate looked to puppy who came back to their feet sniffing around for more food or attention.

"He's not hungry, he just wants attention and a scratch behind the ear or a belly rub. Not your green food which if you don't eat yourself; you won't get dessert." Kate told her as she reached down and rubbed Scout's head. He barked and wagged his tail as he jumped more around Kate's feet than Zoe's.

"How do you know he doesn't want my peas?" Zoe asked Kate.

"Cause I know dogs." Kate assured her, she really needed to get a pen indoors for Scout so they could eat dinner in peace and so she didn't have to worry abut Zoe fattening him up with her dinner.

"She was married to one before." Anna said in a low voice from her chair at the table as they were seated at the dining table sharing dinner.

"I hope you're not referring to my son." Lena said, which earned some smiles from the others at the table.

"No, I was talking about Husband number one. He was a real dog." Anna said innocently before she ate a spoonful of food, that's how everyone referred to Jack Lassiter when he was brought up which wasn't very often.

"What kind of dog?" Zoe asked confused by the conversation and why the others were smiling like it was something funny.

"He was a American Pitbull. He was very intelligent but he tended to be a little too aggressive when he wasn't on a leash. Right Kate?" Anna asked, Kate pursed her lips in amusement as Anna was in a sassy mood. Tex was remaining silent as he'd learnt a long time ago that it was easier to not argue with her when she was.

"Yes, he's gone now though and I prefer not to talk about it as it makes me feel sad." Kate said so Zoe understood to drop the topic and to also get Anna to stop as she knew that Kate had to maintain a hierarchy in the house. While Mike was gone, Lena was at the top of the chain and Kate second in command when it came to giving the girls structure and discipline to undermine Kate would not be a good thing.

"Ok, hey Zoe. You remember your Japanese lesson?" Anna asked changing the topic entirely. She'd drop by every once a while and help Maddy with her language studies. She even managed to get Zoe to learn how to count to ten in Japanese. A feat given how short Zoe's attention span was.

"No, I forgot the numbers. Mommy forbid me and Maddy from practicing. She says that it's a waste of time because boys don't like smart girls. Only pretty girls, but I think boys are smelly and gross." Zoe said in a casual manner, everyone at the table grew silent not sure how to touch that one and also feeling the anger rolling off Lena and Kate. It wasn't hard for them to be angry as the lessons they tried to instil in the girls and the encouragement to learn were being dismantled by Christina.

"I so agree with you on that Munchkin. All boys are disgusting." Val said from her seat, which broke the tension at the table and made people smile.

"Except Daddy." Zoe amended.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Tex asked her incredulously.

"You're ok but you're like super old. So you're not a really boy." Zoe explained to him in a manner that said she thought it was better for him to be old than a boy.

"Super old?" Tex questioned in mock shock as clutched a hand to his chest while the other's laughed at his playacting and Zoe's young mind.

"Yup," Zoe said.

"Ouch," Anna said to Tex with an amused smile.

"You're the one dating a super old man." Val commented to Anna.

"I like them one foot in the grave and the other on the banana peel." Anna quipped to her.

"When is Daddy coming home?" Zoe asked Kate and Lena as people at the table digress into a conversation that was above Zoe's head. The question seemed to stop the whole table and Kate felt a lump rise in her throat and fought back the tears as Zoe looked at her, so innocent and unaware. It broke her heart because she didn't know the answer. She looked to the others seeing them just as affected as she was. She gave a tight smile and cleared her throat.

"I don't know. I hope it's soon." Kate told her.

"Me too," Zoe said completely oblivious to the undertone in the room as was Kat who looked confused as to why all the adults were quiet.

"So, I passed my science test today." Kat said changing the topic. It wasn't news that she passed as she was top of her class but she figured it'd snap them all out of whatever funk they were in. Her father looked at her beaming with pride.

"That's great." Anna said to her with genuine appreciation. The others said as much in the same way. Kat had admit while she deeply missed her mother. She was grateful for the life she had now as she had a bigger family before it had just been her and her Mom.

Now, she had a grandmother figure in Lena, the older women at the table were like Aunts to her, though Kara and Ravit felt more like older sisters. She had her Dad and he for the first time in years was present, more present than ever before. It was something she always wished for. She liked that she didn't feel so a lone but still was allowed some independence.

"Thank you, I've already decided what I want to do in the future." Kat said.

"Already? I'm old as dirt and I've never had a clue what I wanted to be." Lena told her with amusement. Kat smiled and looked to her Dad.

"I want to go to college and study engineering and environmental sciences." She said in a careful manner as she wasn't sure how they'd take it. She once brought the topic up with her Mom and it hadn't been received very well but then College cost a lot of money. More so now. "I figure I could tutor after school maybe do some baby sitting to start saving." she added.

"You sure she yours?" Anna asked Tex in a teasing manner. It made Kat smile as she knew it Anna was being funny not offensive. Anna always made the joke whenever Kat said something intelligent or come with good marks. Or when she was doing her math homework which above Tex's head but not Anna's as she apparently was a math whiz. Something she told Kat came from years of piloting.

"Yeah, she got that beautiful hair from me." Tex assured Anna.

"The intelligence must have come from her Mum or could be a recessive gene." Kate remarked with a teasing smile.

"Ha ha, I'm smart." Tex assured them, he jutted a thumb at Anna. "I got her." he said like it was a badge of honour to have a woman like Anna at his side. Like it proved his intelligence.

"It's the accent. All the women on the Nathan James were falling over themselves for Wolf and his Australian accent. This could be the reverse of that." Kara said with amusement.

"Or the facial hair, I don't mind a bit of scruff on a man." Ravit offered joining in on the joke.

"You're all rough, hairy and smelly dumbos to me. I don't see the appeal at all, but then I'm not into dudes." Val said from her chair, the others chuckled as they knew Val would have used far more graphic language but had to keep it clean for Zoe who was too distracted with Scout to pay attention to the conversation. But Val knew better than to incur the wrath of Lena and Kate for swearing in front of the youngsters.

"What you all seem to think I lack in intelligence, I make up for in common sense and excellent personal hygiene." he told them, he knew better than asking Anna to back him up as she preferred to tease him than help him. Something he found to be a bit of a turn on even if right now his ego was taking a bashing. His daughter was smiling and frankly he'd rather she grow up to have a strength, the confidence and backbone like the women at this table.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Thank you for the reviews and everyone who's popped by for a visit. Just also letting you know I didn't misspell the location 'Shanzai'.. I know the episode is called but 'Shanzhai' but if you google map it. You'll see where my logic in the spelling is at... So Enjoy :-)_

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

* * *

"You better be right about that ship, 'cause we're running low on fuel and in the next 10 minutes, we're gonna be in the drink." Jesse shouted to Tom over the noise of the rotor blades as they sliced through the air. They'd been travelling in silence for the past few hours, giving Tom to brood over what was happening as they barely escaped Hong Kong but since then it had been smooth sailing or flying given the MSS had given up on them. At least for now, but knew they wouldn't give up even if they were in Vietnam air space; it didn't mean they were safe.

"SOP says they'll be within a 20-mile radius of Haiphong." Tom told Jesse as he knew they had to be close. It was roughly 785 kms to Haiphong from Hong Kong and the winds hadn't been kind as it had been pretty choppy most of the way. He knew to find the ship would be close so by luck they'd hopefully find before they had to worry about trying to survive a sea landing in an aircraft not designed for it.

"We got to be within radio range by now." Sasha said from behind them.

"Don't bother. It's busted." Jesse said as Tom had been reaching for it. An alert came up on the console informing them that their low fuel was now a dire situation.

"Maybe not 10 minutes after all. Time to rethink your travel plans." Jesse said to Tom looking to him to come up with another idea. She was just the pilot and right now they had no where to land.

"Tell me your radar works, at least." Tom said to Jesse, she gave a nod and went to turn it on when Sasha grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Don't touch that." Sasha told her as Jesse gave her a 'what gives?' look.

"Sasha." Tom started but she cut him off.

"Your ship will identify us as Chinese. They'll think we're trying to attack them." Sasha told him.

"You don't think I know that?" Tom asked her, he knew they couldn't contact the ship directly but he could use the Radar system to send a brief message. One that Mejia or Granderson would pick up on. He just had to hope they were on shift.

"There has to be another way." Sasha argued.

"We're out of options." Tom told her.

Are you two sleeping together?" Jesse asked them as the two seemed to carry enough tension between them and bicker. She knew what that was like with Sasha.

"He's my brother." Sasha told Jesse, disgusted at the inference but then it wasn't like she ever talked about her family or said 'Hey, this is my brother' when she made the introductions.

"Huh. I don't see it." Jesse told them, as they didn't seem to share any similar features but then she hadn't really been paying attention given she was still sobering up.

"Turn it on." Tom told Jesse, she flicked the switch turning on the radar. The console for the system lit up and map of the area there were in showed on the screen a long with three distinct signals of boats in the area. Two of them moving fast while the other at a slower pace.

"We got the James. She's 10 miles out, due west-southwest." Tom said looking at the screen as he knew the Nathan James transponder code. He moved his hand down to the dials for the radar system adjusting their transponder signal code.

"What are you doing?" Sasha asked him.

"Saying hello." Tom told her as he continued to turn the dials to 1-2-0-9. His birthday, he used it as his ID tag, he just hoped the right people saw it as he knew the ship had new crew members on it that wouldn't pick up on it.

"I'm guessing red's not good?" Jesse asked, Tom as they saw a red flare rise up in the air from where the Nathan James was positioned.

"No." Tom said, he turned to wolf who handed him binoculars and looked for the other signals on the radar. It only took a second when he spotted a small speedboat. They were too far away to make out who was on the speed boat but he could see they were about to be intercepted by a larger vessel as they rounded a small island. "Looks like two of our boys down there on a speedboat. They're being pursued! We need to help." Tom told Jesse, she looked at him incredulously.

"We're running on fumes. We need to land." She told him in a firm tone as she wondered why this man was risking their lives for a couple people in a speedboat.

"I said keep going! Get us in closer." he ordered her, Jesse saw the conviction in his demeanour. The need in his eyes to help the people in the speedboat, something she realised she did understand as she'd spent the last year helping complete strangers.

"Fine, but listen when the fuel runs out we'll have some glide which will soften the blow but we're still going to crash. So you'll need to brace yourself for impact, hold onto your seats or the handles by the doors. Remember to remain calm and take a deep breath before the compartment is submerged. Do not jump out out the aircraft or release your seat belts until we're completely submerged-"

"We don't-"

"No, you need to know this otherwise your ass is toast or worse they'll be picking pieces of you out of the drink for days to send home." Jesse told him. "When we crash, brace for impact, feet flat on the floor and when the craft has completely submerged. Swim sideways away from helo and clear the wreckage before you swim up. Got it?" she told them as she highly doubted any of them had the training to egress from helo crash in the water.

"Got it, Wolf; grenade launcher." Tom said to the man, holding out his hand Wolf haned him the weapon and he adjusted his seating so he had a better angle to fire from. "Get us in closer." He told Jesse.

They were coming up to the boats and were now close enough to see that their guys on the speedboat were outgunned and were being fired upon but the other boat. He felt the helo rock a little and looked behind him to see Sasha and Wolf change positions so he was behind Tom with his own grenade launcher.

The men on the large vessel turned their weapons on the helo but luckily they were too far away for their bullets to hit the helo but they were just close enough for Tom and Wolf's weapons. They both fired off a couple of rounds and the top half of the vessel exploded, the fire must of hit the fuel tanks as the vessel exploded into a large ball of flames and debris.

Tom packed up the grenade launcher and handed it back to Wolf. Their guys were safe but he had to wonder at what cost. The helo's systems that had just been blaring one alarm was now sounding several alarms.

"We going to make it?" Tom asked Jesse as they could see the Nathan James sailing towards them. Jesse shot him a look of uncertainty and shrugged.

"It'll be rough landing if we do. You want me to drop the helo in drink or try it?" Jesse asked him, even with her casual tone he could see she was being serious. He looked to Wolf and Sasha wondering what call to make.

"How rough?" he asked her as he didn't like the idea of crashing but he preferred it be on the flight deck than in the ocean.

"Oh, like a 70% chance we could die and do some serious damage." She told him.

"Try for the landing worse case you can ditch her in the sea. My people can recover us either way." Tom told her.

* * *

"That's one of my favourite photos." Rachel said to Jed as she came into the living room with a restless Evie in her arms. They'd finished dinner and Ashley and Sammy were in their rooms presumably doing homework or reading. Whatever they got up to after dinner. Rachel didn't like to pry as she knew it was important for them to have some space and choose to spend time with her. So she and Jed retired to the living room for their usual ritual of coffee and tea before turning in for the night. Evie for some unknown reason was a little restless while Olivia was in her bouncy chair completely content to look around.

"Mine too." Jed said as he held the framed photo of his wife and the kids when they were young. They'd been out on a picnic after he'd come home from a rough deployment. The day had been perfect almost like a beautiful dream now when he thought about it.

"Your wife is beautiful." Rachel said to him as she looked at the picture with him. Jed smiled and nodded as he traced the frame of photo. What he wouldn't give to see his wife again. He wasn't a deeply religious person but he liked to think that there was an afterlife where'd they'd meet again.

"Sasha got all of Peggy's beauty and my bad attitude. Sometimes looking at her is like seeing a ghost at until she opens her mouth. If she's still out there and comes home. You'll see what I mean if you ever meet her." Jed said with a chuckle, Rachel liked that Jed stayed optimistic than letting his more pragmatic side win over him.

"Have you had any luck in finding her?" Rachel asked, she knew Jed had been searching for Sasha for months. He already knew what happened to Josh and Shannon. The details were sketchy at best as well but Jed found out Josh had been killed in the riots trying to get food for his children and wife. The wife and kids were still unknown but Jed didn't hold much hope. Shannon and her family died in the early weeks of the pandemic. Jed had tried to get to them but the last time he spoke to her she'd told him it was too late.

"No, records are spotty and we hadn't spoken in over 2 years. She was just about to go on a deep cover mission. She always called me before and after a mission as SOP is no contact with family or anyone from your real life. Who knows where she is. She could have gotten married or changed her name to keep safe. Could be anywhere right now. I'll find her." Jed said with a nod, not giving up as he knew Peggy would kick his ass if he didn't find out what happened to all their kids. He placed the framed photo back onto the mantel of the fireplace.

"Tom said he hadn't spoke to her in years. Do you know why?" Rachel asked him, she had to admit that she really wanted to know. She didn't understand sibling dynamics as she was an only child but she wanted to believe that if she had a sister. They would thick as thieves, she couldn't imagine not speaking to them.

"Tom didn't tell you?" Jed asked her, Rachel shook her head.

"I think he's deeply ashamed. I know they had a falling out but if I had a sibling I can't see how I'd go more than 7 years without speaking to them. I didn't want to push it." Rachel said casually, there were many things Rachel didn't push with Tom for many reasons. Most of the time she just didn't want to cause him pain and she could tell it ate at him that he never really mended the rift with his sister but he did speak of her fondly.

"I don't really know all the details myself. But I'm sure you know about Sammy being 5 weeks premature." Jed said as he moved to the lounge and sat down.

"Yes." Rachel said as she moved on the spot, it seemed movement was the only thing keeping Evie calm.

"Tom was running overtime at work and as always late for a family get together. He asked Sasha who was back from a tour to pick up Darien and Ashley for him and drive them to over mine. So she did as it was on the way for her. No harm or fuss, but it was snowing and Sasha hit an ice patch and lost control of the vehicle. Car careened into pole." Jed told her.

"Oh my." Rachel said.

"Sasha ended up with broken arm, ribs and a concussion, Ashley was luckily ok just whiplash but the accident sent Darien into premature labour. There was other complications during the c-section. Darien suffered a pulmonary embolism ended up in a coma in ICU, Sammy in the NICU. It was hard for everyone. Ashley didn't really understand what was going on. I helped out where I could. Tom was a wreck as the doctors weren't too optimistic." Jed said, Rachel knew he was glossing over what really happened as he only knew his side.

"I can imagine so." Rachel said as she knew how much it tore Tom up when he'd lost Darien and found his kids in Olympus.

"Tom was a wreck, as anyone would be. I don't really know what happened but I think in a raw moment he blamed Sasha for the crash and said some things to her. Sasha didn't tell me much of what he said but after that accident she told me she'd been offered a position in D.O.D., that it was probably best she take it and just go. I tried to talk her out of it as it didn't sound like she wanted to go but she's so stubborn and thickheaded when she has her mind set. She withdrew from the rest of the family. I think she was already feeling left out after Darien and Tom had Ashley. Shannon and Josh had their kids and she was the only single one left out of the kids." Jed said as even after all these years he still tried to understand what Sasha had been thinking. He did know that she had ended up loving her job and in her own was was happy.

"Nothing wrong with that." Rachel said, Jed smiled and nodded as he never worried about his kids in that respect. He wasn't such a stodgy man that he believed a woman was happiest married with kids. He'd liked that Sasha strove for the best and didn't feel she needed a man to complete her. He felt out of all the children she was the one who'd settle last because she'd stayed home the longest and seen how he and Peggy were. It was hard to not want the same kind of relationship. Even harder to find a man when her career was unforgiving on a social life and filled with so many secrets.

"Oh I know, I don't care about that. I just wanted them all happy but the others didn't really include her in their lives as much when they all became adults. I know life gets in the way, relationships change but she made the effort and they didn't really return it in kind. A good example was when they all had their kids. No one asked her to be a god parent to one of the kids. I know Josh and Shannon felt she was too young. Tom wanted her to be Ashley's godmother but Darien wasn't having a bar of it cause she was single and always working. Like Sasha didn't understand responsibility and commitment. All malarkey, as she sacrificed more than the three of them combined and carried responsibility from a younger age than the three of them." Jed said.

"Tom told me when your wife was diagnosed with cancer that she didn't go to college like she planned but stayed." Rachel said softly as she didn't know everything but she remembered Tom saying as much when they talked about his mother. Jed nodded.

"Yeah, Peggy and I told her to go but she wasn't having a bar of it. Did all her studies long distance. The other kids pitched in but they had careers and their own kids to look after. I'll be honest her staying helped a lot but I'm sure you know as a doctor what cancer does and what it's like in the end." Jed said.

"Yes." Rachel said with empathy as she knew how hard it was to watch a loved one waste away from disease.

"Yeah, well the point being is that words were exchanged and we were all in a haze for weeks until Darien woke up and Sammy was in the clear. By then Sasha was gone, I wished I'd done more to get the two to patch things up." Jed said feeling somewhat responsible for not helping his kids even if they were adults.

"I know Tom, sometimes his anger and pain can get the better of him. That he can say things to be hurtful because he's lashing out than clearly thinking about the situation and being rational. We all do, it just makes us human." Rachel said.

"Oh yeah, we've all been there." Jed said with a sad smile at her.

"The good think about life is that we all get second chances." Rachel told him.

* * *

"You should know I'm broke and I have no insurance." Jesse told Tom as they were coming in for the landing. Tom was already holding onto the 'fuck me' handle on the door frame as he'd never experienced and auto-rotation landing. It was a lot sharper and faster than a normal landing as most helos slowly hovered and descended onto the flight deck. This one however felt like Jesse was flying a plane in for a landing. He felt the urge to remind her that the flight deck wasn't a runway but kept it to himself. Jesse seemed rather calm about it, he was uncomfortable as yet another alarm blared on the console screen.

"What's that?" he asked inwardly cringing as he realised he didn't want to know.

"Oh it's nothing. Just telling me the rotors are on a low spin. Brace yourselves kids." she shouted over the noise, she landed the helo onto the flight deck with a thud and Tom closed his eyes as he heard the sound of metal skidding across the flight deck for three horrible seconds before the helo stopped.

"Well, that went a lot better than I expected." Jesse commented as she started turning off the helo. Tom opened his eyes and gave her an incredulous look as he could see the rotor blades just skimming the outer doors of the helo bays. A millimetre more and it would've been different kind of landing, he didn't want to know about the condition of the flight deck.

"Everyone ok?" he asked them, looking to Sasha and Wolf to see that they were feeling about as shaken as he was. He had to admit, there was a reason he joined the Navy and that landing reminded him of it.

"Yeah, all good." Wolf replied with a nod. Sasha gave him a nod letting him know she was ok before she reached over grasped Jesse's shoulder.

"Thank you." Sasha told her, Jesse threw a look over her shoulder at her.

"Well, I think you all owe me at least a beer and some smokes." she told them in a matter of fact tone, Tom shook his head and jumped out of the Helo, letting the flight crew take over as they rushed out with the DC crew to take over the care of the Helo. He needed an update on the situation and to know who the hell he and Wolf just killed.

He walked towards the open helo bay watching as crewmen and woman filtered out of the bay area. Lt Alisha Granderson among them, she walked up to him and stopped in front of his and saluted.

"Sir, Welcome aboard the Nathan James." she told him after Tom returned the salute.

"What's your status?" Tom said, he nearly said 'our' but held back as the Nathan James was technically not his ship anymore even though he was CNO and had the power to command it. He listened as Alisha informed them of their current course and the condition of the ship but he couldn't help but be slightly distracted as he saw Lt Burk being carried past them on a stretcher with Danny holding up one end. The two looking worse for wear. He nodded at Danny which the young man returned as he continued on.

He then saw the medics rush to Sasha and remembered how she'd been ill at the site where the Helo had been kept. He knew the medics saw the blood covering her shirt and face assuming it was hers. But he was more worried about how much exposure they all had but his sister seemed to sense him watching and gave him a closed lip smile before she turned to the medics waving them off.

"What are your orders?" Alisha asked him, snapping his attention back to her and what she'd told him.

"Have you broken EMCON?" he asked.

"Not yet." Alisha told him, a little confused as she already told him so. She looked over her shoulder and saw a tall brunette woman smiling at the CNO and wondered what it was about but now wasn't the time.

"Get Lt. Commander Burk, Green, yourself in the wardroom now. I want to know what the hell happened just a few minutes ago out on the sea." Tom told her.

"Yes, Sir." Alisha replied as she left him to do as he asked. Tom moved over to where Sasha was and caught her by the elbow.

"Are you ok?" he asked her in a low tone. Sasha gave him a droll look.

"Fine, are you calling home?" Sasha asked him changing the topic. Tom shook his head.

"Not yet. We have nothing to report." Tom told her.

"Tom, your family probably has been informed of your plane crashing and are assuming the worst." Sasha told him.

"They know me better than that. Anyway why the sudden concern?" Tom asked her, looking to her as he couldn't help but be annoyed at her telling him what the right thing to do. That she was showing concern for his family when for years she never once called or wrote. He knew it was hypocritical of him to feel slighted as he was no better but he couldn't help it.

"I always cared. I was just honouring your wishes by staying away." she told him, throwing back words said over seven years ago that he'd said in a stressful situation.

"Sasha, what happened-" he started but Sasha cut him off.

"What happened was unforgivable remember? It was why you told me to just go away. So don't feel the need to pretend like you have to be kind to me while we're on the ship or show me preferential treatment. I know the score and I can be a professional." Sasha said to him, she still felt the pain of what he said and all the emotions of that night and everything after wash through fresh as if it happened yesterday than years ago.

"I was a mess that night, what I said. I regret those words everyday." He told her, he needed her to know at least that much.

"You had the past 7 years to try and not even a phone call or a letter." Sasha said in a matter of fact tone. She wanted to let him off the hook, but in doing so would open herself to the pain she'd been carrying for years. It would make her yearn for something she knew she couldn't have and frankly she needed to focus on just moving forward.

"It's a little hard when you're Army Intelligence." Tom argued and selfishly making excuses for himself as there were other extenuating circumstances that played into why he hadn't tried to repair the damage he'd done to their relationship.

"There are ways. Anyway, you had Shannon and Josh. I was superfluous to the family." Sasha said with a shrug, Tom gave frustrated sigh as he was in the wrong. He knew that he was the one who had to make the effort but it was so hard to do so as Sasha was always had walls up. Something she only started doing when she joined D.O.D., she compartmentalised her life and work. It was hard for Tom to talk to her as he never really knew what she was thinking or feeling unlike Shannon and Josh who were civilians. Their lives were less cloak and dagger and they were more upfront while Sasha held things back.

"You're not nor ever superfluous to us. We just- I didn't know what to say to take back what I said and repair the damage." Tom confessed as he honestly didn't know where to start. He did know her feelings of inadequacy and being superfluous to the Chandler family stemmed from what he and Darien had done.

"I could think of a few things." Sasha told him as she had apologised profusely for him, she'd taken his words, the blame that not only he laid at her feet but Darien's too for that night and everything that happened as a result of it. She even blamed herself and second guessed her actions that night but she knew she couldn't change what happened or what was said.

"I'm sorry," Tom said sincerely, Sasha tried to pull away not ready to do this here and now given they were both running on empty and a mess from the last 8 hours of escaping death. But Tom held onto her, forcing her to look at him. "I mean it, what I said all those years ago, that was said in the heat of the moment. It wasn't what I wanted or meant. I messed up and I need you to that if I could. I'd take it all back." he told her.

"You realise the display you're putting on for the crew. They're going to assume you're cheating on your girlfriend." Sasha told him a matter of fact tone. He realised her arm realising she was right, not that he cared about what the crew thought personally but professionally was another matter and right now was not the time or place for this.

"I need your help, you know this region and the players. Will you help me?" he asked her.

"Of course, like I wouldn't? our history doesn't affect my work." she said incredulously, but inwardly she had to admit she appreciated his apology. The old Tom she'd known years ago would have choked on the words as if apologising was a sign of weakness than strength.

"Ok, we need to head to the wardroom." Tom told her, Sasha gave a nod.

"Lead the way." She told him.

* * *

"Hey! take it easy!" Mike growled at the guards as they practically threw Diaz back into the cage. The kid fell the floor but they helped him up to his feet just as another guard came to the open door and threw in a full laundry bag. They hadn't missed that Diaz was wearing faded khaki pyjama style clothing that had seen better days as the collar and cuffs on the pants and shirt looked ragged in places.

"What's this?" Rios asked them.

"Clothes, get changed." The guard said in broken English that was heavily accented that made it a little difficult to understand what he was saying. He stepped out the room and locked the door.

"You alright?" Mike asked Diaz as the others moved to the bag and pulled it open passing out the clothes grateful for the extra layer of clothing as it was no fun sitting around in one's underclothes. Diaz gave a nod, he looked better as the colour had returned from wherever the guards had taken him.

"Yeah, they let me sit up on deck and eat. Gave me some water to drink. It helped." Diaz told Mike.

"You see anything?" Miller asked as he was pulling on the pants from the clothing. Jeter passed Mike a shirt and pants for him.

"Open ocean, no landmarks or anything to know where we're going." Diaz answered looking a little upset at not being able to tell them anything useful.

"Did you see Mason?" Rios asked, a question that was burning in Mike's mind as he pulled on his clothes. He looked to Garnett who was thinking the same. He would never say it out loud but out of all them in the group she was the one he worried about the most. Sure she could take care of herself but female prisoners were notoriously mistreated and punished more than men. It was sexist but he could handle watching the other men be beaten, it would pain him but he could handle it but not Garnett. It was a weakness that Mike knew their captors would exploit at some point. At least now they all looked like khaki blobs together which would detract from any attractive qualities these men might see.

"No, I asked about him but they didn't tell me anything." Diaz said

"It's ok. We have to assume they are taking care of him and we're close to wherever they are taking us. Given the wardrobe change." Mike speculated, but in his gut he had a feeling Mason was already dead given they hadn't been given any information about how he was and Rios had been called to help in his care.

* * *

"They come from all over. Pocket knife from the Philippines, Vietnamese penlight, matchbook and condoms from China. Even pirates play it safe sometimes." Sasha said humorlessly as she picked her way through all the personal effects Danny had collected from Haiphong. "But this is the key." she said picking up a coin out of everything on the wardroom table. "When the pandemic hit, pirates looted the Singaporean reserve bank for gold coins, and this became their currency. They're the only ones in the region who use it." she informed them.

"Where do they spend it?" Tom asked her, Danny had debriefed them on what had happened at the nightclub and how many he assumed to be dead over missing as he'd see the men be shot. They learned the ship's helo was destroyed along with it's crew which added to the death toll.

Lt Commander Burk and Alisha had gone over the events from their side. But Tom was still going to go over the logs afterwards as right now the personal effects and Sasha's knowledge were the only real lead they had at the moment in finding the missing crew.

"Shanzai. It's an ungoverned Dodge City off of China's south coast." Sasha said to them all as she moved to the map of the region Alisha had laid out on the table earlier when they first came in. She looked at the map for a moment before she found Shanzai and tapped her finger at it's location.

"China? You want to go back to Peng's backyard?" Lt Commander Burk asked incredulously as he knew that Tom and the others barely got out of China the first time and were lucky to get out unscathed.

"Well, essentially, it's an open city. If the pirates had a capital, this would be it." Sasha explained to him, she didn't want to have a deep discussion about the political minefield that Shanzai was in regards to Peng and the pirates.

The pirates had no allegiances to any country but they held a Chinese city at their own which ruffled Peng's ego to say the least but he 'allowed' it because he didn't have the forces to take it back and it also meant he could use the city to smuggle in contraband, weapons and whatever the hell he liked without America or any of China's allies knowing. Something Sasha kept to herself because she had no proof to show for it only whispers and rumours.

"Before the attack in Vietnam, we tracked three boats in formation. By last night, there was only the one. This could be where the other two went." Alisha speculated.

"Seems like our best shot, sir." Danny said referring to them going to Shanzai. Tom looked to Sasha and the map, he could tell there was more to what she was telling them but now wasn't time to push that subject as they needed to find the missing crew.

"Get St. Louis on the line. Set a course for Shanzai." Tom ordered Alisha.

* * *

Mike was trudged through shallow creeks and dense jungle foliage in flimsy flip flops that did nothing to soften the sharp rocks and god knew was swimming through the water. He tried to figure out where he was but the two large men at his side made it difficult as they gripped his arms hard and one hand was at the back of his neck painfully pinching the nerves at the base of his neck. All he knew was that wherever they were going it was far cry from civilisation.

They'd been forced to put on head covers and their hands cuffed behind their backs before they were put into small motor boats. Mike hadn't been able to see much through the cloth but judging by the sunlight and the hunger that started gnawing his gut, he'd say it was close to lunch time. When they'd reached their destination, the guy who seemed to be in charge pulled Mike's hood off. The light had been blinding for a moment but when his vision adjusted he saw they were at a small riverside dock that looked like it was owned by a fisherman given the paraphernalia spotting the area but Mike didn't know any fisherman who came armed assault rifles.

Either way the boats docked and they were forced off, not like they had a choice either way, Mike was quickly separated from the others and taken down a different path. He'd spent the track taking in the scenery and anything that could him later as he mentally counted the steps back to the dock for future reference. If he had to guess in distance from Haiphong, he'd say about 400 miles which meant they could be in one of hundreds of small islands that dotted the South China sea.

They walked up a creek, water sloshing with every step until the foliage opened up to a clearing. Mike took in the area as there were small wooden huts, he could hear the sounds of people, dogs in the distance and the smell of fires. The men at his side pushed him up to the closest hut. Mike looked up to see a 5ft 7 Japanese man walk out of the hut, he was pale and sweating as he leaned heavily on the railing for support.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Mike demanded, angry at their treatment. Angry someone had the nerve to attack them when they didn't do anything but help spread the cure and help people. Angry that he had no clue what was going. "You speak English? You know what you did? You know who we are? You can't do this." he told the man. all the while the man looked at him calm and entirely unruffled by his anger.

"You're wrong, Captain Slattery. I know exactly who you are." The man told him, with that he walked into the hut. The men behind Mike pushed him forward. His flip flop snapped as it got caught in the dirt and rocks making him trip forward but the man as his back pulled on his shirt and pushed him forward.

Mike was pushed into the hut and the anger he felt evaporated within seconds as the first thing he saw was makeshift hospital bed that was waist height made from canvas with restraints on them. He looked around the room seeing medical equipment, half empty IV bags of blood; his mind racing wondering what the hell it was for but equally wanting to escape the room. one of the men went to unlock the handcuffs on his wrists.

As soon as one wrist was free, he punched the closest one and then shoved the other against the wall and was about to punch him out when the first guy he hit pulled him off wrangling him into an arm lock immobilising him. The other man came at Mike and sucker punched him in the stomach hard incapacitating him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

"Kara, good of you to finally show." Allison said, Kara had successfully entered the room without making people aware of her presence and now Allison had basically shone a light on her saying 'There stands the woman who thinks she's too important to stay late'. Allison waved her over and held up an earphone for her to listen in on the conversation Michener was having.

"I got here as quickly as I could." Kara said to her in a low voice. It wasn't like she lived in the hotel across the road from the courtroom and it was nearly 1am. So she did the best she could to get to the courthouse as soon as possible. But she could feel those in the room judging her as she took a seat at the table.

"Yes, you would know if you hadn't left to socialise with the enemy that the Nathan James broke EMCON." Alex said snidely to her in a low voice as he was listening in on the conversation that Michener was having with presumably Lt Commander Burk.

Kara ignored the jibe as she went to pick up one of the spare earphones on the table to listen to the call with the Nathan James.

" _No, sir. Our rescue swimmers didn't find any of our people in the wreckage. We still don't know if they were on that vessel. Lieutenants Burk and Green did manage to escape the attacks in Vietnam. They were attempting to gather intel from at least a half a dozen kidnappers when Burk was shot. He's here now. The corpsmen are taking care of him. All that said, we have no concrete leads right now to help us find our people."_ Tom said.

Kara felt an immediately sense of relief to hear Tom's voice and the knot inside her chest over Danny release. He was alive and unharmed as she knew Tom would have said if Danny was hurt. It was some good news even in the mess. She didn't care about her stupid confidentiality agreement. She knew she was going to call Kate after this and let her know about Tom, as she knew it would help lift some of pressure off Kate.

"But you're certain Peng is behind this?" Michener asked him.

 _"He blew up our plane, to be sure. But we have reason to believe that pirates from Shanzai were responsible for the attack in Vietnam._ " Tom told him.

"So... We sortie the ships in Okinawa. Shackleton and Hayward can be in the region in a matter of days." Michener said.

" _I appreciate that, Sir, but those ships need to be in Japan, investigating the possibility of the virus mutation. And a larger presence here may draw attention, and it could be counterproductive. I need a lower profile._ " Tom said,

Kara frowned as she like the others expected him to come back to the states. But then she could understand his need to stay. Part of her wished she was on the Nathan James helping them instead here looking at how Allison and Alex disappointment in Tom's decision.

"You? You're the Chief of Naval Operations and, for all intents and purposes, the head of our entire military. I need you running our global operations from here." Michener told him in a tone that said he didn't approve. Kara wished she could explain Tom's decision that tactically speaking it was more sound he stay where he was. He was more effective in the field finding the missing crew than sitting behind a desk in St Louis signing paperwork. She also knew it was bad but she knew she'd feel more comfortable Tom leading the Nathan James in the absence of Mike.

" _Sir, the James is without its senior leadership. I can't just leave anybody-_ "

"I understand your loyalty to your people, Tom." Michener said interrupting him.

" _This isn't just about my people. You sent me here because the region is a tinderbox. I need to stay here now and find out why this happened, what the bigger play is... Not just to save my crew. Though I believe that will be the first step, Sir._ " Tom said.

Kara could feel Tom's frustration and exhaustion as the Navy made them all lateral thinkers. They were able to see all the angles and chose the best option that had the best outcome and low loss of life. They thought of what had long term best results for majority of the people. They were pragmatic and yest they had their weaknesses too. But it was that same mindset that Kate carried from her military career into business that made her successful. It was what made Rachel and the Nathan James successful in their mission for the cure.

Vanity didn't come into their work whereas politics was all about vanity and trying to please those with the deepest pockets while punishing the lower classes. Kara knew it was a harsh view but she'd watch Michener pass laws that rose tax incomes, she watched him install the ration stamp system that regimented and rationed food to the point they had food rotting and expiring in warehouses because Regional leaders refused to share their food with poorer states because there was no profit or tax concessions to be had. All of it vanity and greed.

"I want to know where you're going and what you're doing at all times." Michener said to Tom,

" _Understood, sir._ " Tom told him.

"Bring 'em home." Michener added.

" _I will. Thank you._ " Tom said, the call disconnected and Michener turned to Kara. His eyes narrowed at her and she knew he was pissed. Tom had usurped him and forced him to let Tom have his way because Tom like Rachel were favoured by the public. To go against Tom and for the public to find out would make Michener a very unpopular man.

"So glad you could join us." Michener said in a patronising manner.

"I came as soon as I could." She told him not even a little apologetic given it was past midnight and she had to drop Frankie off at Kate's which in itself was a nightmare as Frankie like her routine at night. So did Kara as she hated having to waking up Kate to help her because she had no one else to turn to in the middle of the night for help.

"I told you earlier I needed you here." Michener told her, Kara pursed her lips, the military side of her told her to just cop the dress down that was coming but the mother in her, the irrational civilian in her that had been jerked awake with a call only 15 minutes ago arched up.

"And I am here, but told you that I have obligations outside of this office that can't be ignored. You need to be reasonable" she told him, she knew it was the wrong thing to say but what was she supposed to say when he was just putting his displeasure of Tom onto her because she used to serve in the Navy under Tom's command.

"I am reasonable, it's you who is trying to take advantage of my kindness. You knew the requirements of the job, the late hours and thus it's on you to make arrangements for your child until this over or you can go now and save us both the aggravation of your home situation impeding your ability to perform." Michener told her in a serious manner.

"Then I choose to go." Kara told him plainly, she felt a lump rise in her throat as she couldn't believe she had just did that. She was still standing there waiting for Michener to say something but he didn't. So she decided she definitely wasn't going to stay in the room. So she turned and walked out of the room with her head high. She was immediately regretting it as she realised she was cutting herself off from being in the middle of it all.

She didn't even know who she was as this wasn't her. She stuck the tough situations out and as she walked out of the old courthouse inwardly panicking with every step. She should have just sucked it up, she knew Ravit would have taken over for her caring for Frankie in her absence. She needed to get to Kate's, she needed to hold her baby girl.

* * *

"You shouldn't have done that." Allison told Michener who was stunned by what had just happened. He was pissed at Tom for forcing him to do things his way instead of coming back to St Louis. Didn't Tom know that he needed him here? then he looked to Kara, the quiet and confident former lieutenant from the Nathan James after the call and transferred his pettiness and anger at her because he expected his staff on hand in a crisis.

He always felt she was amenable, she'd been grateful for the job that he felt she didn't like her own child to abandon her for a job three months after giving birth. But now it turned out, she had a backbone and he learnt he couldn't push her.

"She made a choice." Michener said not backing down as he knew to get Kara back would mean making concessions and he was tired of making them for people and listening to them complain.

"Don't get me wrong, her having a kid is a pain in the ass but she's a hard worker and good for your image. You look like an equal rights employer who encourages mothers to return to work. When the Press notice she's not walking the hallways they will believe Chandler has abandoned this administration. God forbid she goes and works for Lassiter." Alex said shaking his head in disgust, he threw jibes at Kara but he wasn't stupid enough to let her leave,

"She does not affect my work or image. We can replace her." Michener said slamming a fist on the table making the other two jump. He rose from his chair and left the room needing air.

* * *

"Couldn't sleep?" Lena asked as she came down the stairs with Frankie in her arms to find Kate sitting on the back veranda in her pyjamas and a lightweight cardigan. Scout was lying on his side asleep by her side while Kate absently stroked his fur in a soothing manner.

"Pup needed the grass." Kate told her, it took Lena's eyes a moment to adjust to the dark. Once they did, she could see the desolate expression on Kate's face knowing she was thinking the worst. It wasn't like she was alone as Lena worried about her son ever since he first decided to become a cop. Then he just made that worry worse when he joined the Navy. She was proud of him for following his goals but wished sometimes that he was an accountant or a job that didn't involves so much danger.

"Just like a newborn." Lena mused as she sat down next to her on the veranda and nudged her shoulder with hers in a playful manner.

"So I'll put a baby out on the backyard lawn too?" Kate said with a teasing smile to her. Lena chuckled and shook her head as she adjusted Frankie in her arms. The baby girl's routine had been upset and right now the only thing that calmed her was being held. Something Lena enjoyed immensely as it reminded her of when she had Mike and when she held her grandchildren in her arms when they were as small as Frankie. The happy memories warming her from the inside out.

"You can if you want but the baby will still need a little more attention than a puppy in that department." Lena said, she didn't know how long Kate had been sitting out here with just her thoughts. But Lena felt the need to remind her to take care of herself. She felt Kate was the glue that held everyone together.

"I don't think Mike would be keen on it either" Kate said as she looked to Frankie who was awake but looking rather drowsy in the darkness like she couldn't decide if she wanted to asleep or awake.

"He'll definitely be a stick in the mud about wanting to clothe and diaper that baby." Lena said with a smile, she looked to Kate seeing her looking a little upset about the conversation. She knew exactly how Kate felt. "Michael will be fine." Lena told her feeling the need to say so not just for Kate but also for herself. Kate rested her head on Lena's shoulder as the older woman placed a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing to me?" Mike demanded as he was strapped the bed in the restraints the way the men in the room acted as if his struggle was boring. He pulled on the restraints trying to vainly free himself but they were unforgiving.

The man who knew his name stood in the corner stroking his beard watching him. Another man moved to Mike's side and pushed the sleeve of his left arm up. Mike felt his heart ramp up even faster as he watched the man clean the inside of his arm and without warning inserted a needle in his arm.

He grunted from the pain as the needle burned in his arm from being forced into the vein, the next thing he knew an IV line was being connected to the needle. It came to him in an instant was was happening as he saw his blood flow through the line and down. They were taking his blood but what for? he didn't know.

"I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch." Mike promised the man who knew his name. The man looked oddly amused by his promise but Mike knew he wouldn't be laughing when his face was the last one he'd see before he died.

* * *

A knock sounded on the door, Kate lifted her head from Lena's shoulder. "I'll get it." she told her, she wrapped her cardigan around her and moved to the door. She took a quick look through the peephole; saw it was Kara wide eyed and in tears.

"Kara. Is everything ok?" Kate asked her, Kara wasn't a woman to cry over the little things. So to see her in tears meant something was seriously wrong.

"I quit." she said in a dazed manner. Kate ushered in and closed the door. She turned to Kate. "I've never quit anything before." she said so confused and upset as she felt like a failure.

"You want a drink?" Kate asked her.

"No, I just want to hold my baby." Kara said, she knew Kate's offer of a drink was innocuous but it just made her think of her mom and she didn't want to be her mom. She didn't want to turn to alcohol in a crisis. She knew it was a huge leap to go in her thinking but she felt a little un-tethered.

"You're in luck, she's still awake." Lena said coming over to her, Kara met her half way and lifted Frankie out of Lena's arms into her own and kissed Frankie's head as she wrapped her baby up in her arms. She closed her eyes and took a slow inhale and exhale drawing comfort from the choices she'd made in the past half an hour. Holding Frankie in her arms, feeling the physical weight of her tiny body and feeling her fussing in her arms made her smile.

"Thank you, I'm so sorry for tonight." Kara told them.

"Don't worry about it. Is everything ok?" Kate asked her, she ran a soothing hand up and down Kara's back.

"Tom is alive, so is Danny. I assume Wolf and Sasha are as well as he couldn't have gotten out by himself without connections."

"Was that what you were called in for?" Kate asked her, relieved to hear about Tom making it out alive and she happy to go with assumption of Wolf and Sasha.

"Yeah." Kara told her.

"You know that you shouldn't be telling me any of this." Kate said in a cautious tone. Even though she really wanted to know what Kara knew, she also wanted to protect her from being prosecuted for telling her confidential information. But Kara shook her head.

"I don't care, you'd find out anyway. Tom's back on the Nathan James. He's continuing onto Shanzai, a pirate city off the coast of China to find clues to find out where the other missing crew members are. Michener wanted him to come home, but Tom forced his hand. Michener either had to agree or order him back and court marshal him for disobeying orders which would be a nightmare." Kara told her as she rocked and jiggled Frankie in a soothing manner but if she were honest it was also to soothe her jangled nerves.

"Ok, so where in all that did you quit?" Kate asked a little confused.

"He was angry and he looked at me and attempted to dress me down for not being in the office when Tom called. I missed out on the first 15 minutes of conversation because I had to get Frankie here. It came down an ultimatum, I either made arrangements for Frankie for the rest of this crisis or go." Kara told them.

"So you went with 'go'?" Kate asked her a little surprised Michener would be such a fool. But then she knew why Kara would walk out as there would always be a crisis and where did that leave Kara when she had fought for a contract with hours so she could be a parent and work.

"I'm an idiot." Kara said, she felt like she was going to crumble as she felt ashamed by her actions but at the same time proud of them. It was incredibly conflicting. Lena came over to her and smiled in a motherly fashion and cupped Kara's face in her hands.

"No, you are woman who was faced with an ultimatum that chose to not be strong armed by a man into doing something she didn't want. There will be other opportunities, other jobs but you only got one family and life. So you are not an idiot, my child." Lena promised her as she wiped away the tears from Kara's face. Kara swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded which seemed to please Lena. "I think we could all use a hot chocolate." she added which made Kara smile as Lena's answer to any life problems was chocolate.

"That would be nice." Kara said as she felt a little better. Lena gave her a warm smile and moved off to the kitchen to start making the hot chocolate.

* * *

Tom looked over the reports of the past hour, he'd had a shower and changed into BDU's feeling more himself than he did before. Being in uniform and back in his old quarters brought back memories but the room and well, the ship didn't feel like the home it used to be. It's not like Mike had changed much, if anything he had less things in the room and just a few framed photos on the desk. But his mark as Captain was tangible to Tom. He knew while he commanded the Nathan James for the moment it wasn't his like it had been over 5 months ago and for some reason that was ok with him.

A knock sounded at door taking Tom out of his thoughts.

"Come on in." Tom called, the door opened and Tom closed the file he was reading to look to Lt Commander Cameron Burk. Lt Burk's older brother. He could see the familial resemblance as Burk and his brother had the same nose and chin, there was also the same swagger in their walk. But after that they were very different as Tom could tell Lt Commander was more serious where Burk was lighthearted.

"Thank you for loaning me the digis." Tom told the man.

"I'm glad they fit, sir. Your name tag's being made, and we'll get those eagles for the collar. And you should know Lieutenant Burk is stable. HM2 Logan pulled a 762 slug from his leg." Cameron informed him,as he stood in a relaxed military stance with his hands behind his back.

"I heard. He's tough, your brother." Tom said as looked over the file in his hands.

"Always has been." Cameron said with a small smile as he felt pride at the compliment Tom extended to his little brother. Tom nodded and closed the file in his hands.

"I want you to know... While I'm in command of the ship and until the return of your shipmates, I've decided to make Lieutenant Granderson my acting X.O. I understand you have seniority over her, but I cannot afford to lose you running combat right now." Tom said placing the file on the desk, he could see Cameron was pissed. Tom understood how it would feel like Tom was cutting him off at the knees with putting a junior officer into a job that meant he'd have to take orders from a junior officer. But Tom had made his decision.

"You think I made the wrong call... Not contacting the CO when I sensed there was trouble in Vietnam." Cameron said trying to figure out where he went wrong. As he wondered if the CNO knew how humiliating it was to know that someone nearly 6 years his junior and of a lower rank being given the job of X.O. would look.

"That... was a difficult decision. 50/50 in my book. Problem is, you think it was the wrong call and then you overcompensated." Tom told him.

"Sir, we'd been tracking that vessel. At the time, it was our only lead." Cameron argued.

"And then you chased it into shallow waters, leaving you out of position for the rescue, forcing me to fire on that boat when we still didn't know if our people were on it. You're too hot now, and I can't have my X.O. making emotional decisions. But I do need you in CIC." Tom told him, hoping Cameron would take a hint and drop the subject as he could only assume the man's ego was bruised since Tom wasn't patting him on the back for trying.

"Sir, permission to speak freely." Cameron asked.

"Go ahead." Tom said allowing some latitude given the unorthodox nature of their situation. That and he was curious to know what the man really thought.

"You're a hypocrite, I've read every incident and action report you've ever logged, and I believe you would have done the exact same thing as me in that situation. You say I overcompensated and I'm 'too hot' because I failed where you feel you might have been otherwise successful. But we won't ever know but I do know I can be your X.O. and do it well. Lt Granderson's too green to be an X.O., you only want her because you know she won't step on your toes and frankly it's nepotism." Cameron told him, Tom's eyebrows rose in surprise as he had to admit he didn't expect the man to throw his past experience back at him.

But even Tom had to admit the man was right part of his reason for picking Granderson. He did know Granderson well, she knew him. It meant he wouldn't have to adjust his short hand but then he also knew Granderson wouldn't push back on any risky or bad decisions Tom wanted to make. Part of an X.O.'s job was to point out when the Captain was going too far.

"She has very little experience running CIC. I need a TAO." Tom argued.

"She can learn, I can train her and at worst I can perform my duties as X.O. and TAO in a crunch. Something I've already proven I can do." Cameron told him with confidence that spoke volumes to Tom.

"You got some balls on you." Tom told him as he sat back on the desk and looked at Lt Commander Burk. He was well within his rights to strip the man of his rank but he had to admit he liked grit and backbone he was showing. Something about the man's thirst to be X.O. reminded Tom of himself when he was younger. "Fine, you want to be X.O. then it's yours but know you got big shoes to fill. Captain Slattery was a mean X.O., so let's see what you got." Tom told him.

* * *

"I can't believe I did that." Kara said in disbelief as she sat on the lounge next to Kate. She had managed to get Frankie to sleep and in her bassinet in one of the spare rooms just as Lena poured the hot chocolates out. At least she felt rewarded in being able to get Frankie to sleep though she had a feeling she would be paying for it tomorrow.

"Please, in my younger days I walked out off a job butt naked." Lena said from an arm chair opposite the lounge.

"What?" Kate asked as she wasn't sure she heard Lena right but also glad she hadn't taken a sip of hot chocolate as she would have choked on it.

"I worked in a lingerie bar as a bartender, the uniform was provided." Lena told her.

"Of course." Kate said in amusement while Kara wasn't sure how to react. She wasn't one to judge given her mother but she had to admit it was always a bit of a shock when Lena talked about her unorthodox life.

"The boss was skimming off our tips. I confronted him about it and he told me if I didn't like it I could walk and he snidely reminded me to leave behind the 'uniform'. I showed him, stripped those tiny panties and bra off. Walked out with my head held high." Lena said with glee.

"Lingerie bartender." Kate mused as she thought it was impressive to have the confidence to walk out of a bar butt naked. She also knew Mike would have a fit if she entertained the idea of that kind of career change.

"When you're a single mother in the time I was? Well you take whatever work you can get that and you're grateful." Lena said in a sage manner.

"I can't argue with that logic." Kara said as it really put things into perspective for her. She had to admit sometimes she felt like a single mother but then it wasn't like Danny had the chance to even be home long enough to help her.

"Thanks to having Michael, I had curves and breasts that made men drool. So you know a decade of serving beers in my knickers got us a house and an education for both Michael and myself." Lena said with a smile.

"I bet he was mortified knowing you worked in your knickers." Kate said with a chuckle.

"He is nowadays though doesn't want the girls aspiring to be me in my earlier years before I became lawyer. But honestly there's nothing disrespectful about what I did. I had all my bits covered." Lena said with a shrug before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"You ok there?" Kate asked Kara as she looked like she was deep in her thoughts.

"Yeah, just thinking about what I'm going to do." Kara said.

"Work for my company or alternatively you could asked Tex if they are looking for more trainers at the base. Your experience and training in CIC and as TAO would be invaluable to them. I know you won't be unemployed for long but for now why don't you just take a small breather." Kate advised.

"Yeah, I think I could use more sleep." Kara said as a breather sounded like a good thing. She knew without having to go to work at the old courthouse she could look after Frankie and know that Kate would keep her up to date on what was happening with the Nathan James and the missing crewmen. She could even give input without being judged for every action. Suddenly those thoughts gave her freedom the breathe.

"Well, the guest room is already set up for you and Frankie." Kate told her.

* * *

"Captain on the Bridge!" Alisha announced as Tom came onto the bridge. The crew all paused to acknowledge his presence before returning to their duties.

"Welcome back, sir." Mejia said as he, Danny and Sasha looked up from the nav station where they were plotting out the mission specs and the course of the vessel. He noticed that Danny and Sasha were both cleaned up and had changed into fresh clothes. He was glad that someone had seen to helping Sasha find some clothes given they hadn't had time to swing by her place to pack a bag for her.

"Good to see you, Gator." Tom said he walked over to Alisha and stood beside her looking out to the horizon. "Mike Slattery's the Captain of this ship. A simple "attention on deck" will do." he told her in a low voice, he hadn't announced her as X.O. but he could see the expectation in her eyes that he would. That word of him choosing Lt Commander Burk over Alisha was just a rumour. She was one of the senior bridge crew members but he also couldn't help but wondered if Cameron had been right about her being too green but it was too late to change his mind now. He told Cameron the job was his, and Tom wasn't about to be seen as fickle.

"Understood, Sir." She said with a nod, he was just wondering how to broach the subject of her standing in as acting TAO.

"How's our new helo?" Tom asked her, she looked shocked at the question as if she expected him to say something else.

"Could be operational in 24 hours. Not so sure I can say the same about the pilot." Alisha said in a dry manner, maintaining her professionalism as best she could.

"She's a hell of a pilot, and we need her. We've never operated this ship without a helo, and I don't want to start now." he told her.

"I'll handle it, Sir." Alisha said jumping on the opportunity to prove herself to him.

"How far to the next objective?" Tom asked looking in Mejia, Sasha and Danny's direction.

"Once we make it through Qiongzhou Haixia, we bear north at 345 degrees and we'll be at Shanzai within four hours." Mejia informed him, Tom looked at his watch judging the estimated time they'd arrive. Definitely too early to call home.

He knew it was against SOP but he needed to check in with Rachel and the kids as he knew Michener wouldn't tell them. He also knew Wolf would ask to make a call to Kate to update her on what happened in Hong Kong. He also could use a few words with Kate as he knew she would fairly up to date on what was happening.

"There's a natural harbour there. It's wide but usually filled with boats and debris. The only other way in would be climb a 100-foot rock face." Sasha informed him, he looked to his sister and thought over the information before he spoke.

"Cruz and Evans will lead Cobra Team and stand by for the exfil on the beach while the X.O. runs combat." Tom said to them, basically announcing Lt Commander Burk as his X.O. without saying the words exactly.

"How do you want to get in, Sir?" Danny asked him, completely unfazed while Tom didn't miss the flash of disappointment in Mejia's expression. He knew the crew who served under him before St Louis would feel he betrayed them by choosing a stranger over one them that he knew but he'd just have bear that burden as they needed a strong leader and Lt Commander Burk had the bones for it.

"We'll head out at first light, commandeer a local boat into Shanzai Harbor. I'll disembark with Green and Taylor." Tom said.

"Are you kidding?" Sasha asked incredulously, Tom had been half way turned to face the front window again but stopped as he looked to his sister. He couldn't believe she had just questioned his decision in front of the crew. But apparently she had more to say. "You can't go. You're the most recognizable face in the world. Even in Asia." Sasha told him.

"I'm down three operators. So for today, I'm just a body with a gun." Tom told her, Sasha reared back slightly at his tone but she didn't seem to understand the subtext of his tone which was 'shut up, I'm captain and these are my orders'.

"And if you die, your crew has just lost another CO." Sasha argued, Tom could feel the members of the crew look between the two of them like children did when their parents were fighting to see which one would shout first.

"A word." Tom said in a calm manner to her before he turned on his feet and walked away knowing she would follow.

* * *

Mike slowly drifted into consciousness, though in all honesty he didn't know when he had passed out. He blearily looked around, but found his vision too blurry and his eyes tired that he couldn't concentrate. He felt like he needed to Kate he wasn't feeling well and couldn't feel his limbs, like maybe this was the first sign of a heart attack he joked about sometimes. He did have pain in his left arm. But then his vision cleared; the ceiling above him was not the ceiling he remembered over his and Kate's bed at home. It then computed he wasn't home. He heard a fridge door close and looked to source and saw an Asian man with a black bandana putting away an IV bag of blood.

"Not Kate." he slurred his thoughts coming out of his mouth on their own volition. The man gave him a bored look as he came over and pressed down on Mike's arm. He frowned as it hurt but he heard a snapping noise and suddenly he felt pins and needles sensation through his left arm. The bandana man lifted up another bag of blood that Mike assumed to be his blood.

Mike struggled to move his head but managed to see the bandana man move into curtained section of the ramshakle place. There was a large enough gap for Mike to see the bearded Asian leader sitting in a chair with an IV cannula in his arm. Mike watched as the Bandana guy hooked up the IV bag of his blood to the leader. He watched as his blood flowed into the leader's arm. He looked at Mike through the break in the curtain and Mike could swear the man looked like he was getting high off of it.

"You're a goddamn vampire." Mike told him, the leader chuckle at him as he slouched in his chair enjoying Mike's blood. Mike tried to stay awake but it was just too hard to keep his eyes open and but before he knew it he was swallowed back into unconsciousness.

* * *

"What, am I being called into the principal's office?" Sasha asked as she followed Tom out on to some isolated part of the ship. She wasn't entirely sure of their relationship as siblings but she felt as an officer her argument was legitimate. He couldn't just hop off the ship after they spent the last several hours getting him back to it.

"Challenging me in front of my crew? Are you trying to undermine me on purpose or have you just forgotten what the chain of command is?" he asked her.

"I challenged you because I think you could compromise the mission. I'm fully capable of handling this with Wolf, Green, and their teams." Sasha told him as she ignored the jibe about her forgetting the chain of command.

"Well, I appreciate your self-confidence, but I think, at this point, I know how to run my ship." Tom told her.

"How is jumping off the ship into dangerous territory where you could end up being killed; running a ship?" Sasha asked him.

"I lead by example at the front unlike the Army where the leaders hide at the back." Tom told her, Sasha made a derisive noise.

"Oh ho, right because you know how leaders in the Army are made?" She asked in a mocking tone amused that he was going to pull an Army Vs Navy rivalry bullshit. "You know they start at the bottom and they survive many wars so by the time they are at the back and have the rank General; they have valuable experience to lead and instruct those who at the bottom." Sasha told him.

"Dad wouldn't agree with you." Tom told her, Sasha pursed her lips as she felt like reminding Tom that their father remained an NCO so of course he had a very different view of things but even he would agree with her in her analogy at least.

"If you want to pull that card then Dad wouldn't agree with you abandoning your post as Captain and going off the reservation to hunt down leads just cause you're an adrenaline junkie. Let me tell you something, you need to go on this mission is not leadership. It's your need to control everything which apparently hasn't changed since we were kids." Sasha told him, hitting a sore spot.

"Controlling everything is how I've made it this far." Tom informed her, "And as long as you're on my ship, you take orders from me. Understood?" he asked but it was a rhetorical question as he walked past her and back onto the bridge.

"Aye, aye." Sasha said not sure whether to be pissed off or a little amused by Tom's temper as he reminded her of when he was 13 and ordered her to stay out of his stuff.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

"So, where'd you learn to fly? RAAF?"

Sasha heard Wolf ask Jesse, she was trying to summon the courage to speak with Jesse which wasn't easy as she was the first person Sasha actually cared for after her husband Paul died. The first person to make her feel something after Paul's death had left her numb and disillusioned. Their relationship had been an adrenaline ride fuelled with danger, booze and humour. In some ways it wasn't healthy and in other ways Jesse soothed her in a way that made her want for more. But Jesse wasn't the settling down type and that was where Sasha was.

Adventure was great but after years in Army Intelligence of changing her name and address more times than she can recall she was done. She was at the point she just wanted to have a quiet life and relax, do what normal people did like go to the movies, have date nights, make a family, buy a house etc. Things Sasha had expected to have with Paul but he was gone; so in a way she thought it was a sign that she wasn't supposed to be like everyone else. That she should just stay in her work, at least she knew she had been helping people with Jesse. But after a few months with her, Sasha knew Jesse wasn't ready to settle down. She had her own mission which was why Sasha broke it off because she refused to be that woman who demanded her partner conform to their wants. Relationships were about loving one another and making compromises; yes but not ones that essentially changed who the person was.

Now Wolf was just an in-country fling as he was like Jesse He wasn't ready to jump off the ride of international bed hopping and dangerous escapades. Something that suited Sasha as she figured he was great rebound material but now it was a mess as they were both on the same ship with her.

"Australian Antarctic." Jesse replied.

"No, you're lying." Wolf said to her in disbelief.

"Rich pricks love their volcanoes." Jesse told him, Sasha smiled at Jesse humour but knew she couldn't leave the two alone in there for too long as they'd learn about one another and that would make the situation that more awkward. So she pushed off the wall and walked into the Helo bay.

"Hey. How long till your bird can fly?" Sasha asked.

"Not soon enough. Then I'm out of here and this will all be a bad memory." Jesse told her, as she moved to the work bench looking for a particular tool to help her.

"You're going?" Sasha asked, she didn't know why but she felt a little stung by how bitter Jesse was even though she knew she should've expected it. She did end things and it hadn't been amicable at all but she'd held onto some weird hope that Jesse would just move on and be apathetic about her not resent her.

"That's what I said. I'd say we should keep in touch, but that's not your thing is it?" Jesse asked, Sasha blew out a breath as she could see Wolf watching them and understanding the underlying tension.

"Jesse. We need you." Sasha said, she really wanted to say that she needed her but it was too personal and once again it didn't change the issues that stood between them being together.

"I got you here. Now I got to get back to what I do." Jesse told her like it was simple but Sasha could see, hell she could still feel all the emotions between them. The attraction, that pull that brought them together but it wasn't enough and now Jesse was bitter and entitled to be so.

"Your cover's blown. You'll be the dead the minute you hit Chinese airspace." Sasha argued.

"So I'll go to Phnom Penh or Mandalay. They need cure. I was headed there next, anyway." Jesse said with a shrug.

"Look, I get it, all right. You're mad at me. But I had my reasons that I explained to you." she said, she really wished Wolf would go find somewhere else to stand instead of watching them as Sasha wanted to remind Jesse of all the reasons they wouldn't work as she knew Tom needed Jesse to stay with the Helo and frankly without her Brother. Sasha knew Jesse needed people around her. "These people are the only ones strong enough to take on Peng and the people who killed your brother. If you want to help the rest of the world, you should be helping them." Sasha told her.

"This isn't my fight." Jesse told her in a tone that brokered no argument. Sasha looked at her, part of her wanted to manipulate her into helping them, but Sasha didn't want to be that kind of person who did that to people she cared about. So she gave up and walked away, heading out of the Helo bay. She barely made it halfway down the hallway when Wolf caught up to her.

"Hey," Wolf said falling into step with her.

"Not now Wolf." she told him.

"So, she was after the husband and before me? I always assumed it was another bloke but damn." Wolf said actually sounding impressed to Sasha.

"Really?" Sasha asked him incredulously as any guy in his shoes would be angry or ignoring her not acting like Wolf. In fact she was sure he was more pissed off about Tom being her older brother than knowing he was the rebound for Jesse.

"Hey, I don't think it can get anymore awkward or flattering at the same time. So let's wash out the awkward and talk about it." he told her.

"I really don't want to rehash my failure of a love life with a man I-"

"Had hot and satisfying rebound sex with." Wolf offered as he cut Sasha off from whatever she was going to say. He liked her and he knew going into what they had was just basically fun without romantic entanglements as the woman had a bruised heart and he knew he wasn't the one to mend it.

"Sure, why not." Sasha said as she couldn't bothered arguing with him and frankly she didn't want him to continue bandying about where someone would overhear them.

"Must of been one hell of a break up given how sour she is." Wolf said.

"Mmm so what part of I don't want to talk about it would be lost in translation for you?" she asked him as she stopped and turned to him. Wolf gave a nod but smiled which told her he wasn't going to drop it.

"I get it, but know that if you do want to talk about or excise her out of your body. I know a few good spots around the ship perfect for that." He told her with a teasing smile. Sasha chuckled as she didn't take him seriously for a second. It was probably what attracted her to Australians as they seemed to be her type.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." She told him in a wry manner.

* * *

Hours later, Kate woke up to someone incessantly nudging her shoulder. She frowned as she opened one eye to see Zoe's face right in hers.

"Good morning!" Zoe chirped at her in a happy mood. Kate gave a half chuckle and groan as she pulled the little trouble maker into her arms. Zoe was a morning person, something Kate could happily admire but after only a few hours of rough sleep was a bit of a struggle.

"It's too early to be morning." Kate informed her as she was definitely too tired for it be time to get up.

"No it's not." Zoe told her, Kate looked over Zoe's head to the alarm clock on Mike's bedside table and gave a tired groan as it read 5am. So she couldn't legitimately tell Zoe to go back to her bedroom and sleep a little more. She idly wondered if she could get away with holding Zoe in her arms and sleeping.

"Is Nanna awake?" Kate asked her.

"No." Zoe told her.

"Aunty Ravit?" Kate asked her.

"She wasn't in her bed and Nanna said I couldn't wake Aunty Kara or play with Frankie until 10am." Zoe told her, Kate frowned.

"When did Nanna tell you that?" Kate asked Zoe.

"She told me that when she woke up and then told me then started to snore. But you're awake." Zoe told her.

"Right." Kate said as she wondered if she could tell Zoe the same message but with her not being disturbed until 11am and send her packing back to Lena but she felt it was mean and made her feel a little irresponsible.

"I'm also very hungry and so is Scout." Zoe told her as she tried valiantly to wriggle out of Kate's arms so she could get out of the bed and try to get Scout out of Kate's bathroom. But Kate's hold was inescapable.

"Ok, I'll get up." Kate told her as she let Zoe go, the little girl scrambled off the bed and went over to the gate in front of the bathroom and scratched Scout's head through the bars. she chuckled as the puppy licked her hand and wagged his tail. Kate got up from the bed and pulled on her cardigan as she couldn't be bothered to put on a bra just yet.

She moved over to where Zoe was and opened the child proof gate releasing Scout from his nighttime prison. He raced into the bedroom and sniffed around before focusing on Kate and Zoe telling him good morning in his own fashion. Kate looked in the bathroom and was happy to see there were no puddles or surprises for her this morning which was nice.

"Ok, downstairs to the kitchen." Kate told Zoe as she picked Scout up. She would have let him follow Zoe but she wasn't ready for him to test the stairs yet until he was a little bigger.

"Yay! Food!" Zoe said in an exuberant manner.

* * *

"Val," Rachel said as she opened the door to find Val on her doorstep. She had been expecting Jed or maybe one of the kids coming back for a forgotten book or lunch. She knew Sammy had left his lunch behind but that was more about him making a point than forgetfulness as she'd made the lunches today.

"Hey Doc," Val said to her with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked, surprised as Val had never come to their house before. Actually Val kept a wide berth from everyone on the Nathan James with exception of Kate and Anna. Though she had a feeling that Kate and Anna just forced their way into Val's life than Val going out of her way to talk to them.

"Here to make sure your laptop is in tip top shape and to put in some extra safeguards given the situation." Val told her.

"What situation?" Rachel asked her.

"Oh, Kate hasn't filled you in yet. She will after she parks the car. Here she comes." Val said to her making it clear she did not want to tell Rachel anything. Rachel looked behind her to see Kate walking up the footpath to the front door. It looked like she had just rolled out of bed not bothering to change or even find a hair brush before she tossed on a suit jacket and ballet flats. As she wore navy long tights and a light blue pocket t-shirt tunic with a grey jacket. The sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It was a real contrast to Val who was dressed in a smart looking black suit with a maroon business shirt and her long brown curly hair with deep red streaks was pulled back into a loose but elaborate up do.

"Laptop is in the kitchen to the left." Rachel said letting her in, Val adjusted the laptop bag over her shoulder and smiled as she walked into the house.

"Hey," Kate said to Rachel as she came to a stop just before the door giving Rachel a smile that said 'yeah, I'm a mess. Enjoy it.'. Something Rachel while was concerned for a her friend couldn't help but tease her.

"Look at you." Rachel said with a smile as she liked that she wasn't the only struggling to find a hairbrush this morning.

"I know." Kate told with a smile of her own as she pushed her sunglasses over her head using it as a headband to keep her hair off her face.

"You make me feel positively dressed up." Rachel teased as she was in tracksuit pants and button down shirt. "You get any sleep last night?" she asked her.

"Some, how are you? Has cabin fever set in?" Kate asked her.

"Not yet. I think months on a ship has given me the ability to stay in one place and be content for a while." Rachel said with a smile.

"I guess that's good. The twins down?" She asked.

"Yes, Jed is off somewhere. Val said there is a situation." Rachel asked, Kate gave a weary nod and was about to tell Rachel everything when the house phone rang.

"You want to get that?" Kate asked her.

"If you don't mind." Rachel said, Kate shook her head as Rachel was so polite about the strangest of things while completely bullheaded and rude about other things.

"Nope." Kate assured her, Rachel moved to the phone and picked up the handset.

"Hello, Chandler Residence. Rachel speaking." Rachel said into the phone, she smiled as Kate closed the front door and flopped down on the lounge in a heap like she owned it. Letting her bag and keys fall to the floor.

" _Rachel._ " Tom's voice crackled over the line.

"Tom?" Rachel said in shock as she hadn't expected him to call her given he said he wouldn't.

" _I haven't been gone that long._ " he said in a amusement.

"How are you?" Rachel asked ignoring his comment.

 _"Alive, miss you and the kids."_ he told her.

"I was thinking of you." Rachel said, she felt if she admitted to missing him too she might cry and right now she didn't want to be weepy over the phone. She wanted to keep everything light and fun.

 _"Same. I wish this was a social call but sadly it's not._ " Tom said, Rachel gripped the phone in her hand and braced herself.

"Is everything ok?" She asked.

" _Has Michener spoken to you?_ " He asked her.

"No, and Kate was about tell me something when you called." She told him.

" _She's there?_ " He asked.

"Yes, is everything ok?" She asked again wishing he would just tell her what was wrong as he sounded like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

" _Not entirely, I'm fine though. So don't worry and Kate will get you up to speed but I wanted to tell you that I'll be away little longer than I expected to be. I also want you to know it's not by choice._ " he told her and she believed him.

"I understand and I appreciate the call." She half lied as she had no clue what was going on but she did know he didn't want to be away from her anymore than she did.

" _I love you Rachel._ " He told her. Rachel smiled soaking up the warmth of his words.

"I love you too." Rachel said soaking up their time even if it was over a phone. "I guess you'll want to speak to Kate now." she said after a few moments of silence passed be

" _Please but know it's also not out of choice._ " he told her, Rachel chuckled as she walked over to Kate.

"Kate." she said, she held out the phone to her, Kate made a face but took the phone from her.

"Tom, you going to tell me you love me too?" she asked in a playful manner as she looked up at Rachel. Rachel chuckled and shook her head at Kate and her mischief.

" _We have leads and we're running them down._ " Tom informed her, ignoring her comment.

"Good, I have a sat phone the number is-" Kate rattled off the number. "You call if you need anything, it's an encrypted line so it's safe to speak on and no one will be able to pinpoint your location as it'll bounce the signals." She told him, it was one of Val's toys.

" _Ok_."

"Is Wolf-"

" _He's alive, so is Sasha. I also got a woman named Jesse with us."_ Tom told her, Kate looked at the ceiling of the living room not envying Sasha's life at that moment even with hers in it's current mess.

"Oh boy, fun times." Kate drawled in a dry manner.

" _She's not on board with us_." Tom said, she could hear his concerns. She could only assume the Nathan James' Helo was non operational or the pilot was dead for him to need Jesse as she only really had one skillset that Tom would need in the given situation.

"No matter what she says. She's loyal to Sasha. So don't worry about her less than stellar attitude. But listen my offices in Hong Kong were hit, Wolf's team is dead. I'm sure he figured it out but let him know that their remains are being escorted to Australia as we speak. I've issued an order for all expats to return home." Kate told him.

" _Peng's letting them go?_ " Tom asked surprised.

"Peng is a businessman and I've removed myself from the Asian market so he'll monopolise it. Look, you have to have better things to do than talk about this." Kate said as she'd prefer to not talk about Peng and what kind of man he was in her opinion or Lassiter industries when she wanted him to find Mike and the others.

" _You're right, just one thing. About Sasha, did you know?_ " he asked.

"Know what?" Kate asked, a long silence lapsed between them which left her to wonder what he wasn't telling her. But before she could ask Tom spoke up.

" _Nothing, look you can remove Riley, Dacunha and Harris from the list. They are KIA. Burk and Green are on the ship_." Tom told her.

"Tom, what you just told me can be misconstrued as giving classified information. Hell, just calling here goes against SOP." Kate warned him given she had no clue how secure the line was that they were communicating on.

" _I don't care. I need you up to date on the same information we have. I know you, you see connections others don't and I need that for when I call again._ " Tom told her.

"Ok." Kate said not arguing as she could work on things from her end.

" _I have to go._ " Tom told her, Kate held up the phone to Rachel.

"Rachel, your man said mean things about my cooking. I demand you chastise him." Kate told her, Rachel took the phone from her and walked away for a private goodbye with Tom. After they said their goodbyes, she placed the phone back in it's charger and turned to Kate.

"So what is going on?" she asked.

"The short story. Mike and 5 other crew members have been kidnapped from a nightclub in Vietnam. They are currently MIA. Michener is keeping it all under wraps, the press doesn't know, no family memebers have been notified. So far the only lead is that Peng is behind it as Tom's plane and my offices in Hong Kong were burned to the destroyed."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I knew hours ago about the plane but I couldn't tell you. Not when all I had was speculation at best." Kate told her, she knew it made her a shit friend.

"It's ok." Rachel said part of her was angry for being left out but the otherside of her was glad to of been oblivious to it all and to be able to talk to Tom after the fact. "But I'd prefer you keep me in the loop of everything going on not just the virus from now on." Rachel added.

"Ok, well so far I don't know anything more than that. I have nothing except that Tom's in Asia somewhere looking for them on the Nathan James. But we've turned my study into a situational room. I wouldn't mind if you came over at some point and took a look at it." Kate said, as she knew Rachel didn't have a military mind but she could potentially see something Kate and the others didn't.

"Alright," Rachel said as she sat down in one of the arm chairs as she felt a little overwhelmed by it all. She couldn't imagine how Kate was handling it but then given her state; not well.

"Oh and Kara quit her job." Kate added.

"What?" Rachel asked shocked by that as she couldn't imagine Kara quitting her job. She knew Kara didn't enjoy the work but she figured it was just Kara going through the growing pains of juggling motherhood and working as a civilian.

"Michener gave her an ultimatum. She dedicate her life to his administration and find full time care for Frankie or she could leave. She walked." Kate informed her.

"Good for her, I hate it when people do that. Is she ok?" Rachel asked, Kate nodded.

"Yeah, she's at my place with Frankie. Lena's loving the whole mother hen thing. You know how she is. She's adopted Kara as a daughter. So yeah she'll be ok but man last night she was looking lost like she didn't know up from down. She'll get her bearing though." Kate assured her. Rachel nodded taking in the information. It made her wish she was upto driving and wrangling the twins to go to Kate's and be in the thick of everything with everyone else. But right now she was still recovering.

"How's Zoe and Maddy?" Rachel asked her, getting all the updates while she could.

"Zoe is good. We are picking Maddy up after lunch. Lena's going for full custody. My lawyers filing in the paperwork today." Kate said.

"Do you think she will win?" Rachel said as she couldn't help but feel for Kate as her plate was completely full. She was pregnant, helping Lena get custody of her grandchildren, helping Kara, Mike was missing. It was all too much for Rachel and she was on the outside of it.

"As long as Mike being MIA stays under wraps until after the hearing. I'd say our chances are good." Kate told her.

"How are you?" Rachel asked.

"Really tired." Kate confessed, tears filling her eyes against her will as she was truly exhausted by how her life didn't seem to untangle into something she could manage. "But everything will be ok." Kate told her, though it was more of a mantra for Kate now than for other people's benefit.

* * *

"Ms. Green?"

Kara looked to Jacob Barnes, investigative report for the Midwest. She used 'Reporter' as a loose term in referene to him as she felt he was a hack. She was definitely not going to miss him. She continued to walk down the hallway to her office. She really should have let Ravit pack up her stuff. But she knew she needed this closure. She needed to remember why she quit and that it wasn't a completely irrational decision on her part.

"Jacob Barnes." She said to Jacob as the man fell into step with her.

"Yes, you know me." he said with a smile.

"Yes, it's not hard to forget the man who wrote 'Kate Lassiter; The Black Widow that Captain Slattery was lucky to escape; it's just a shame America couldn't be so lucky'. You've moved up in the world. Last week you were outside the gates and here you are on the inside." she said with a false smile as she threw his words from a past article back in his face, she didn't know she had it in her to so sarcastic but after the last 24 hours it felt good to be mean to someone who deserved it.

"Yeah, you know it that was an editorial. Sometimes you got to write stories you don't want and it was meant to be inflammatory." he told her.

"Hmm, you need to look up the definition of an editorial because that's not what it is." she told him as she walked to her old office to pick up her personal effects and hand over her passes.

"Well, it got me here. So listen if you're free, uh, maybe we could go for a drink sometime. You could give me the lay of the land, help me better understand the man behind the curtain." He said to her, Kara immediately realised he was hitting on her.

"Uh, no. I'm not interested and I think Allison Shaw would be a better person to help you." Kara said hoping he would leave after he realised she was completely useless to him.

"Really? you're the Deputy Chief of Staff right?" he asked her.

"Not since this morning. Before you go spinning stories. I left the position due to personal reasons. I wasn't fired and there's no story to be had." she assured him as the last thing she needed was him publishing a story about her.

"What reasons?" He asked her, she inwardly prayed to a higher being to give her patience as they stopped in front of her offices.

"They are personal which means I'm not telling you and by the way it's Mrs Green." she told him, she hated doing it but she flashed him her left hand to show him the engagement and wedding ring; she needed to make it clear to him that she wasn't interested in his sexual advances as he obviously felt he was god's gift to women.

"Right, I should of seen that. Guess I was just distracted by your eyes." he said in a flirtatious manner.

"I'm sure, now if you'll excuse me I have an office to pack up." Kara said in a matter of fact tone as she wasn't going to pander to him. She turned to her door ready to open it when Jacob spoke up.

"No problem. Hey, are we going to war with China?" he asked her, Kara turned to face him, not really concerned by the people walking the hallways as she knew Jacob would report whatever he wanted. He did that with Kate, tking Christina's side. He gave reporter's a bad name.

"What would make you say something like that?" she asked out of curiosity, given she was no longer employed she didn't really have to worry about covering Michener's ass.

"POTUS was a little dodgy on the subject at his presser this morning. Haven't seen even one photo op of Chandler and Peng, not even a handshake. It makes me wonder what's going on." He said with a smile.

"And so you jump to war as a conclusion?" she asked him.

"Just asking the question." he said with a playful smile.

"Well, as you know I'm not privy to what happens in these offices anymore." She told him.

"True but someone who worked under Chandler's command, a decorated soldier such as yourself abandoning Michener's administration says one of two things to me. You've been recalled to active service, I know they're crewing a new destroyer which means we're gearing for war or you were fired which begs the question of why." he told her.

"I quit." She told him wishing he'd let it go.

"You don't seem like a quitter to me Mrs Green." he said stepping in close to her, looking at her in a way that was entirely inappropriate.

"Well you don't know me at all. Given if you did all of your homework, you'd know I'm happily married and I have a 3 month old daughter." She told him, proving he was not the amazing investigative reporter he believed himself to be.

"Or maybe I was just testing the waters so to speak." he told her, Kara fought the urge to sucker punch him in the gut and tell him to get a clue that she wasn't interested but she wasn't that kind of girl. Jacob of course was a sleaze and knew it as he pulled out his business cars. "Here's my card, in case you would like to get that coffee." he told her.

Kara looked at the card and back at him. "I don't think so," she turned to office door and opened it. she stepped in and closed the door in his face.

* * *

"You're all good to go." Val told Rachel as she turned the laptop at the kitchen table towards Rachel so it was all hers.

"Thank you" Rachel said in a wry manner as Val had felt it important to take the times to show Rachel the interface and navigate it. Sure Val lost her when she talked about the security systems on the laptop and network but it was outside her wheelhouse. All she needed was to be able to access the information and use the interface with ease. Something she could do well enough on her own given it was a simple design.

"If you have any more questions or if there's something you need translated just call me or Anna directly." Val said to her, Rachel couldn't help but be amused as Val looked to Evie like she were a bomb ready to explode when all the baby girl did was aimlessly look around and wave her arms.

"Or me, my Japanese is fairly decent. Though if it's text base, call Anna cause I only know enough Kanji to read a newspaper." Kate said as she was holding Olivia in her arms.

"I will," Rachel said.

"Ok, we need to get going." Kate said with a reluctant sigh as she wanted to stay and hold Rachel's babies in her arms. She wanted to pretend everything was fine while Rachel worked and marvelled at how beautiful her babies were. Maybe even imagine how her's would look in her arms but right now she needed to get Val to the offices and check in with her own company. She told herself only a couple of hours and then she'd meet Lena at the hospital to pick up Maddy.

"Thank you for coming by." Rachel said to them as she got up from her chair and followed them to the front door.

"Anytime." Kate told her, Rachel couldn't help but be amused as Val opened the door and Kate walked out of the house sans her bag and car keys but still holding Olivia.

"Kate." Rachel said looking to her and then to Olivia who was in her arms. It took a moment for Kate to register

"Ah right, sorry, my mind it elsewhere." Kate said with a sheepish chuckle as she walked back into the house. She gently laid Olivia down on the lounge and picked up her bag and the car keys from the coffee table.

"No problem, though maybe you should let Val drive." Rachel suggested to Kate.

"I don't know how to drive or have a licence." Val informed them.

* * *

"Kara," Allison said with a smile as she looked relieved to found her in her office. Kara had been worried for a second that it was Jacob insisting she take his card.

"Don't worry, I'm only taking my things and I'll be gone." Kara assured her as she wrapped up the photo frame from her desk of her and Danny in yesterday's newspaper.

"Look, what happened this morning got a little out of hand. Michener didn't mean to throw that ultimatum at you. He's just stressed by the situation of the missing crew and the regional leaders pushing for him to reverse his policies." Allison told her.

"I understand completely but if he wanted me to stay he'd be here. Not you." Kara told her as she placed the wrapped up frame into a canvas bag she kept in her office for when she needed to duck out for a quick grocery shop. "But know that I really appreciate the experience I've gained by working here and am grateful for all the opportunities you've given me but I think it's best we just let things be as they are." she told Allison.

"You going to go work for Lassiter?" Allison asked.

"No," Kara assured her, it was tempting to work for Kate, but right now she just wanted some time to re-evaluate her goals and what she wanted for her future.

"Good move, I doubt they'll be around much longer." Allison said off handedly.

"What do you mean by that?" Kara asked.

"I'd tell you but you're no longer an employee of this office. Something you should remember is that even if you don't work here anymore. You can't tell them anything about the missing crew members. You'll no longer be able to know what's going on with the Nathan James or where your husband or how he is. You'll be completely in the dark." Allison told her, Kara nodded as she took Allison's words seriously because in a way it was true. She would be just like any civilian with a family member in the Military, she would be the last to know anything but then most people in her situation didn't have a friend like Kate.

"I know," Kara said with a nod, she looked to Allison hating that the woman was trying to manipulate her into staying. "It won't be easy but President Michener made it clear that I had to make a choice. He was right, this job isn't for me, he needs someone who is completely dedicated to this administration." Kara told her.

"That is you, if you want it to be." Allison told her but Kara shook her head as she didn't believe the woman for a moment. She'd thought over the last 4 weeks of her work here ever since she woke up and realised this job. Working in Michener's administration didn't make her happy, it didn't give her the same satisfaction as she had when she was in the Navy.

When she looked at Frankie, she felt like she had to be a good role model for her daughter. While Frankie was too young at the moment to understand her or life in general. It meant Kara had time to work on finding a job that did give her the same purpose and satisfaction as the Navy had.

"I thought it was, but not anymore." Kara said as she moved to wrap up the next picture which was of Frankie when she was a newborn with her cute pudgy face taking up the frame. Danny's photography skills weren't the best but it was still a cute photo. It made her smile as she remembered all the wonders of looking at her daughter, knowing that she was seeing and experiencing the world in a way she and many other adults took for granted.

"I think you should change your mind. You still have time to apologise to Michener and get your job back." Allison said to her but Kara knew she wouldn't change her mind and she most certainly wasn't the one who had to apologise for what happened.

"I appreciate that but I'm going to be alright." Kara assured her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

"What is this?" Kate asked her accountant as they were looking over the finances of the company. She didn't pretend to do the man's job but she needed to understand where the money was going and why. Something she knew peeved her accountant Bill and her favourite business adviser Nancy to no end as what was probably a 5 minute look over a signature dragged out into a two hour meeting. But they seemed to have the patience to not show it but then they all knew she was trying her best to make decisions that helped people than the company's bottom line.

Something she really needed to end as she wanted to get home before Lena and kids got home. There was also Scout to think of as she didn't want to leave him alone too long either.

"That's Michener's new tax reforms coming into action, it won't hit us until they are in full effect which is next week." Bill told her, he was a portly man in his mid 50s who reminded Kate of Coca Cola Santa. He was a friendly man who was a family man at heart, she knew he sent most of his pay to his kids and grandkids helping them get set up in life.

"This seems to be an extravagant figure. I can't exactly keep my company's employee award rates as they are with this." Kate said looking to him. She watched as he gave her a patient smile and sat back in his chair and nodded in agreement. "Is there a loophole we can use?" she asked.

"Afraid not when it comes to paying the company's tax. Just have to suck it up and pay the piper." Bill told her.

"What about the employees how can we help them? as it just doesn't hit me." Kate said to him.

"It would mean salary sacrifices, so they fall into a lower bracket as you can't afford to give them a raise to bridge that gap." Bill told her. Kate made a face of displeasure, this was Michener's way of getting the regents to come to table. He wanted to cut her out as a middle man then hand over her company to the regents. While some of them were cut throat enough to accept there were some who just couldn't afford to run the infrastructure Lassiter Industries controlled in their territories.

"He's picking sectors the company dominates so he can to bankrupt you or put the company into receivership given you'd have to start taking out loans eventually to pay the taxes and it just goes downhill. You'll lose control. Then any Regional leader could potentially buy it-" Nancy started but Kate cut off as she knew how the sentence ended.

"And take over completely. How long until I'm in that position?" Kate asked Nancy, she'd was a woman in her early 40's, she was one of Kate's business advisers. She was a corporate lawyer but she dabble in other areas that made her invaluable. Frankly she made Kate want to grow up to be her as she was the epitome of Career barbie with her immaculately quaffed blonde hair and well cut suits. When she walked into a room she owned it. That kind of power and confidence was enviable.

"Bill and I crunched the numbers and I'd say if you keep expanding as you planned to do. It could be within 5 years barring any disasters like territory disputes or civil war destroying the current infrastructure like what happened in Philadelphia. If that happens then much sooner because I hear the regents are stoking the fires since they hate these ration stamps and the land claim rights." Nancy told her with a sigh.

Kate pursed her lips as she'd lost a power plant in Philadelphia not to mention the loss of life during the hadn't been good for business and she was reticent to move people back into the territory given it was still in flux over who was actually in control.

"Ok, what do you recommend?" She asked them.

"Cease all your plans to expand and pull it back in until after the elections. If Michener loses you have the potential to persuade his successor to help by reversing Michener's policies and reforms so that we can all go back to business. If Michener wins then you either pay the tax or try to keep the company's profits low enough to stay out of that tax bracket." Nancy said.

"The elections are months away. I'm ok with pulling back on our plans to expand but I despise my employees being targeted like this because I'm paying them standard in Australia just in US dollars." Kate sighed as she was aggravated and tired of Michener trying to tear her down when he was the one who forced into taking the reigns of her late husband's company.

"Yes, I know. My daughter bought her first home last week but when these reforms are put into action. I doubt she'll be able to afford the repayments which is why I suggest that we renegotiate contracts. Lower people's salaries so they are in a lower income tax bracket and redirect that pay they sacrifice into non cash benefits such as childcare vouchers and increased pension contributions. We could come up with other benefit schemes that don't leave anyone out." Bill said.

"Won't it affect those with mortgages?" Kate asked.

"We can easily use the profits from this quarter to help them refinance their loans before the tax reforms take effect. It's going to be a lot of work and it will cut into profits but it could work. But really it's bad for business." Nancy said.

"Let's do it, I want our employees to feel secure in their employment and the company. We need to keep the trust we've built. I can salary sacrifice as a gesture." Kate offered, Bill smiled while Nancy looked a little annoyed and somewhat nauseated by Kate's generosity.

"Kate, you only earn $40,000 a year in salary. You're the lowest paid CEO, you're like President José Mujica except you don't run a small country. Honestly, it's disgusting I earn more than you." Nancy told her, Kate chuckled and gave a shrug.

"You're here more than me and know more about this stuff than me. You forget, I have a very healthy stock portfolio and I save my pennies. But if you want to take a pay cut..." Kate told drawled teasingly.

"No, I like my apartment and shoes too much." Nancy informed her drily.

"Alright, either way let's get ahead of this while we can." Kate said as she rose from her chair. "Now if we're done, then I'll say thank you for your patience with me and leave you as I have the kids to get home to." she told them.

* * *

"What you looking at?" Jed asked Rachel as he stood behind her to see she was looking at videos of what looked to blobs twitching and getting stuck to one another to him. He had to admit he'd never seen Rachel quite so taken as she usually was wrapped up with the twins but for the past couple of hours while the twins had been asleep she'd been glued to the computer. It was almost like she wasn't in the room but somewhere else. So he couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not really sure." Rachel said as she looked at the slides. At a glance, it looked like the virus hadn't mutated at all but her contagious cure had which made no sense to sense to her as she used the same principles Neils did in stabilizing the cure. It's only purpose was to multiply and attack the virus like normal antibodies did, it just only had the purpose of attacking one virus. The cure hadn't changed shape but it now had a ring around it that looked like a chain in shape as it wrapped around the cure cell isolating it from the Red Flu.

Rachel couldn't help but feel red flags in her brain as she had seen this type of bacteria before but it most certainly like how this little beastie did. The chain rings around the cure were stable and acted with definitive purpose. They surrounded the cure cells clump together into gelatinous groups and slowly consumed on the cure. It seemed with the cure blocked up by the ring it couldn't do it's work in destroying the virus.

The scientists in Japan were just as baffled as she was as they'd tested the cure the US Navy had delivered months ago as well as what Kate had sent with the Lab. Both were just as advertised, 100% cure with very little impurities and nothing to explain this new development. Rachel had sifted through the reports and slides, everything the Japanese government's scientists had gathered. It seemed as though Anna was right on top of everything as all the files were translated and any video messages put onto the network had English voice overs. Majority of it was from the early days of the pandemic and then it became spotty as scientists died and infrastructure in Japan fell. Then it picked up a few weeks after the cure was imported and followed from there. the only problem was that it was very basic information as they hadn't had the equipment or found the people who knew how to operate the labs. But what she had was enough to build theories. She just needed those in Japan to keep working and send her more information.

She honestly felt like she was barely scratching the surface of what was there but she felt like she'd seen enough to call Kate but she looked to Jed and figured he was probably a good person to act as a sounding board as he'd understand her about as well as Kate would.

"This is the virus." she said pointing to the screen which had a image of a slide that showed the blood of one of the few surviving people in Japan. she pointed to the cells of the red flu before moving onto the cure. "This is my cure, we believe there was a mutation." she told him.

"Ok." Jed said taking a seat at the table.

"But I think a foreign body has been introduce to the body's system around the same time the cure was months ago which is impeding the cure from doing it job." Rachel told him.

"Think it came from the cure being sent out?" he asked.

"No, they've tested the cure from the batch sent at the beginning and what Kate sent over with the labs. They only just sent me these slides. It's all just preliminary information. Kate's investigating this end but so far there haven't been any issues. There are some impurities in the manufacturing of the cure but it's negligible. This is something else." Rachel said.

"Where do you think it came from?"

"I don't know but apparently the cure is only staving off the symptoms for a couple hours at most. I think this new visitor is latching onto the cure that comes into the body and forms a barrier around the cure. Stopping it from attacking the cure. It then consumes the cure cell and moves on to next." Rachel said, but it was only a theory she had at the moment.

"What's with the grouping though?" Jed asked.

"I don't know, they need to run more extensive tests and with the equipment Kate sent over it should only take a couple of days to garner some more answers. Right now I only have speculations but I don't have a good feeling about this." Rachel told him.

* * *

It was barely light out when guards came into the hut that Mike spent the night in. They undid the restraints on his ankles and wrists. He would've fought but he was incredibly weak and tired. They yanked him off the bed and dragged him out and across the compound. Mike tried to keep up with where they were going but his mind was not functioning and his body was too heavy and sore, his vision was half between black and trying to filter in what was around him.

"Feet up." One of the guards sneered at him but Mike's body refused to comply. His body was saying he really needed to sit down- no, lay down would be better so he could get his bearings. But the guards dragged him with his feet scrapping in the dirt and rocks until they reached another wooden hut. There was a guard standing at door who opened it.

They dragged him in and released their hold on him. Mike dropped like a ton of bricks to the floor and groaned as pain reverberated through his sore muscles. He barely took in the noise of the others shouting and the door to hut shut. Mike felt hands grabbing at him and within seconds he was laying upright. The room spun in an unfriendly manner making him glad his stomach was empty as he probably would've vomited.

He looked up and his vision cleared just enough to make out the faces of Rios, Garnett, Diaz and Miller looking down at him with concern.

"Sir?" Garnett said trying to get Mike to focus on her.

"I'm okay" He assured them though he was far from ok.

"What'd they do? Where'd they take you?" Rios asked.

"Tied me down. Took my blood." Mike told them.

"Why?" Garnett asked.

"So much blood." Mike said as he thought about all the IV bags taken out of him.

* * *

"Welcome to Shanzai." Sasha said to Tom as she, Danny, Wolf and Tom were walking through the crowded streets of Shanzai. It used to be a small fishing village but when the pirates had come in and taken over. Well it had grown from being a couple cobble stone streets lined with one story brick homes packed next to one another. They'd left just before dawn and commandeer a small boat in the debris in the harbour and sailed into Shanzai. It was much easier than Tom had expected.

"Vulture Team, radio check." Tom said into his radio, he thought it'd be weird for them to rock up heavily armed but it make him feel like maybe he was being modest with just a side arm and rifle.

" _Cobra Team reads you, Lima Charlie. 1,000 yards from rally point Alpha_." Cruz's voice said in his ear.

This is Vulture Team going silent." Tom told them, he switched off his radio and continued to keep pace with his sister. He had a feeling it wasn't her first time here as people gave them a wide berth making space for them as they walked with purpose.

" _Roger, Vulture Team. Nathan James standing by._ " Lt Commander Burk said over the comm.

"You said it. Dodge City." Tom said to Sasha as they were heading into a part of town that looked more like a shanty town with poorly constructed building, there were bars, a market selling weaponry, food and other items like clothing, technology etc. Even whore houses that left Tom feeling like they'd walked into a Chinese version of a spaghetti western.

"It's not Hell, but you can see it from here." Sasha quipped to him.

"Well, at least no one's shot at us yet." Wolf commented.

"Kind of wish they would. Least we'd know we were close." Danny argued.

"Well, give it time." Sasha told Danny throwing a smile over her shoulder at him as she knew it was only a matter of time before someone she knew would show and try to shoot her. She and Jesse were good at making friends but better at making enemies as they had undercut the black market in their time together.

* * *

"Wake up. We need help. Run for your life. Get shot at. Blow up a boat. Crash-land. See the world." Jesse said to herself sarcastically as she couldn't get off the ship fast enough.

She didn't want to admit it but she was lost and angry with her grief. Everyone she was close to was dead, she couldn't go back to China and she knew by now the MSS would probably know her identity and have people looking for her. Sasha was right, she had no where to go, no one to go to with exception of her. But Sasha made it clear they were finished when she broke up with her. Jesse never understood why as they had been great together, not just in the physical sense but also at their work in helping people.

"Ma'am?"

Jesse turned to the Chief of engineering the guy was an asshole but in his defence she wasn't exactly friendly to him.

"Here's your new torque pedal." he told her, he held out the part she asked for over an hour ago. She took the part from him and let him walk away even though she was tempted to snidely tell him how she noticed him taking his sweet ass time to find it.

She was about to turn back to helo when she saw Lt Granderson walk over to her. The woman was like an open book and well given the family disappointment she was, she knew when to expect a speech as the woman had intent written all over her face.

"You can spare me the inspirational speech. I already told Sasha I'm leaving and I'm have dual citizenship in Australia and China so you can't conscript me." Jesse told her, she knew she had told Sasha that but part of her really wanted to stay with her. She just hated how staying meant acknowledging that Sasha was right. But what really got her goat was the Navy and their assumption she could just be conscripted into service.

"I don't think you understand how much we need you and your helo." Alisha told her.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened to your crew. I know what it feels like. But I got to get back to my life, or what's left of it." Jesse told her as she turned back to the helo to continue her work.

"I don't know what happened between you and Ms. Cooper back in China, but I heard you risked your life to get the cure to those who need it most. That makes us allies. I hope you can see that you can use our help as much as we can use yours. Or you can keep feeling sorry for yourself." Alisha told her, Jesse turned around to face Alisha and narrowed her eyes at the woman peeved at her for thinking this was the best way to win her over.

"What happened to manners? and treating your fellow human being with respect?" Jesse asked her in a snide manner.

"Excuse me?" Alisha asked.

"You come in here and try to tear me down and minimise my grief to goad me into being your slave." Jesse said, Alisha opened her mouth to argue but Jesse wasn't finished. "It won't and didn't work. Now what wouldn't worked was if you came in here and asked me in a polite and nice manner to join your mission. Then I might have considered your offer. But it's too late for you to try. So, I'll take the hot meal, spare parts, the fuel as your CNO promised me and be on my way. Now since it appears you have nothing to give me, I suggest you piss off." Jesse told her.

* * *

"I'm home," Kate called out. She tossed the car keys into the bowl on the dresser by the door before she crouched down to say hello to Scout who raced at her. He tangled around her legs for a few seconds before he calmed down and let her scratch him behind the ear.

"And what time do you call this?" Lena asked her.

"I had a work thing. It couldn't wait until Monday. But I got ice cream." Kate said holding up a canvas bag. She rose to her feet and saw Zoe was sitting up to the breakfast bench as Lena was in the kitchen cooking something. She couldn't help but notice Maddy was no where in sight.

"Yay!" Zoe said with excitement. Kate walked up to stand beside her at the bench with Scout racing beside her to keep up with her strides.

"Where's your sister?" Kate asked her as she playfully tugged on one of Zoe's plaits.

"In bed, she's in a mood." Zoe told her.

"She's tired," Lena corrected Zoe before she went back to her chopping.

"What's cooking?" Kate asked her as the kitchen looked a mess and covered with many different items it was hard to tell what was being made.

"Black bean brownies. So ice cream was a good choice." Lena told her, she gave Kate a look that she interpreted as 'it's your turn to get her out of bed' look.

"So I'm forgiven?" Kate asked as she went around the bench and pulled out two teaspoons. She pulled out one of the two containers of ice cream to Lena.

"Yes," Lena said with a smile as she took the ice cream to stow it in the freezer.

"Ok, I'll be upstairs." Kate told them, they both nodded and Kate left Lena with Zoe heading up the stairs for Maddy's room. When she got to Maddy's door, she tapped twice.

"Come in." Maddy's voice said through the door. Kate came into the room and smiled at Maddy as she found her sitting up in bed with blankets over her legs. Kate felt like Maddy aged 5 years every time she came home from being at her mother's during the week. Kate usually spent the weekend trying to get her to smile and be a child as she felt like Maddy was growing up too fast as she knew Christina had changed from the mother she used to be before the pandemic.

"Hey" Kate said as she perched herself on the edge of Maddy's bed. "How you feeling?" she asked her as she placed the bag and spoons on the bed.

"My head hurts and my arm." Maddy said as she picked at the edge of the bandages on her injured hand.

"It'll get better. You just need to rest and recover. I got some ice cream to help with that." Kate said as she pulled the 1lt container of bubblegum flavour ice cream. She pulled the lid off and gave Maddy a teaspoon and held out the container to her.

"It won't be better until Daddy comes home." Maddy told her as she held the teaspoon in her unijured spoon staring at it. Tears filing her eyes, it pained Kate to see her so upset because unlike Zoe; Maddy understood completely what happened in that courtroom and why they were in the situation they were in. She was just that smart but emotionally she was still a child and couldn't handle the injustice of it all.

"Maddy, I need you to have some faith in me and your Nanna. We're working hard to get our family back together." She promised her, but she knew children only understood results. "Eat some ice cream, it's your favourite flavour and it's super soft and gooey." Kate offered. The ice cream wouldn't solve anything except be a small pleasure.

"It'll make me fatter." Maddy said putting the spoon down on the bed cover. Kate really wanted to go over to the old house and make the woman disappear permanently. But that would raise eyebrows and frankly Kate felt her time was better deprogramming Maddy as she knew the little girl for all her intelligence still feel into the age old traps of listening to her mother and wanting to please her even when it was impossible.

"Maddy, Zoe's been telling me what your Mom has been saying. I don't know why she would say those things but let me tell you something. You are a healthy young woman who is beautiful inside and out." Kate told her.

"I'm not skinny like you or Anna." Maddy told her in a depressed tone. Kate looked at her and gave a sigh deciding it was better to be upfront and honest with Maddy.

"Maddy, Anna and I have serious health problems that make it hard for us to keep weight on. Anna's is a disease that she'll have for her entire life. She eats healthily, she's just skinny cause she can't eat a lot of delicious foods. It's not a choice for her. Do you get what I'm saying?" Kate asked her.

"Yeah." Maddy said.

"As for me, I have to drink those nasty green drinks your Nanna makes me. Do you think I like that?" Kate asked her, she saw Maddy smile as Kate was not shy about telling Lena how she felt about her green smoothies and not liking them. But still drinking them because they were good for her.

"No," Maddy said.

"But I drink 'em because some bad doctors made me very ill and so my body is just taking a long time to repair itself. Now, I'm working hard to get better and in a few months I'm going to look very different to this and it will awesome. I'm looking forward to putting on fat and muscle." Kate told her with a smile before she dragged her teaspoon around the edge of the container collecting some ice cream and eating it. Though in a few months, Kate was also going to be showing up as very pregnant but she wasn't ready to share that with Maddy or anyone past the people she had told.

"Really?" Maddy asked her.

"Yeah, fat isn't all bad; you need it to keep you warm, for energy and lots of other good things. The key to life is moderation which means lots of good stuff and some naughty stuff to balance it out. Ask Nanna, Ravit, Rachel and even Kara. They'll all agree with me." Kate told her, she held out the container to Maddy. She could see her logic was slowly winning Maddy over as the girl was clutching her teaspoon but hadn't gone in for the kill yet.

"Now, here's some more truth for you. Your dad loves you unconditionally. So no matter what you do or how tall or wide you grow. He will love no matter what. Ok?" Kate asked her.

"Yeah," Maddy murmured.

"So, since you don't want ice cream. Do you want to tell me what happened yesterday morning?" Kate asked as she placed a lid on the ice cream carton and placed it on Maddy's bedside table.

"It's nothing."

"You ended up with some pretty bad burns and a concussion for nothing," Kate said casually.

"I'm already in enough trouble. We're not supposed eat baked beans." Maddy informed her and Kate braced herself to hear another of Christina's pearls of idiocy.

"Not with me, I think the only rules we have about beans is that you can't cook them without adult supervision and to go outside and shake yourself if you got to bottom burp." Kate said with a smile, Maddy sadly wasn't smiling.

"Maddy, I'm not going to be mad. I just want to know what's going on." Kate said to her in a soft manner.

"Zoe's like hungry all the time at Mom's. So I cook us food when Mom's not home or when's she asleep and clean up. Everything. I hate it there, she doesn't let me do anything fun. I'm always looking after Zoe. she threw away my Chinese and Japanese books, I'm not allowed to go to after school classes. She threw out all of our stuff and everything is boring colours and it has to stay clean. All the time. Zoe is messy." Maddy spewed out in a bitter and resentful manner. Tears ran down Maddy's face as she continued, "Zoe's so perfect but I'm the fat one, no one likes smart girls they are annoying, that's why Daddy stays away. It's my fault and I know it's not all true but he's gone and he doesn't call us. Nothing."

Kate bit her bottom lip as she felt like this was completely outside of her wheelhouse. She didn't know what to say or do to make it better for Maddy.

"So yeah, I was cooking beans I stole from here and Zoe was playing because she gets to play and she ran into the chair I was standing on and I don't know what happened but it's all my fault." Maddy told Kate, who opened her arms and Maddy climbed into her lap wrapped her arms around her torso. Kate held her gently as she could not wanting to hurt Maddy but exacerbating her injuries. Maddy sobbed in her arms

"No, it's not your fault. You were being a good big sister and what happened was an accident." Kate said to Maddy in a low voice as she smoothed a hand down Maddy's back in a soothing manner.

"That's not what Mom said." Maddy said between sniffles.

"I know, but even adults say things they don't mean." Kate told her, she hated defending Christina but she didn't want to talk about Christina in a malicious manner to the kids as they had to learn what kind of relationship they wanted with their mother.

"I want to stay here with you and Nanna." Maddy told her, she pulled away and looked at Kate with pleading eyes. Kate wished she could just keep Maddy with her but the law was on Christina's side.

"I know, we're working on it. It's just going to take time." Kate told her, it wasn't the answer Maddy wanted and crushed Kate's heart to see Maddy so broken. "I just need you have faith in me and hang in there. Until then Nanna and I are going to come up with ways to help you with Zoe. Sound good?" She asked to Maddy as she smoothed some of Maddy's hair behind her ear.

* * *

Tom followed behind Sasha as they walked into a bar, It was an open air bar though judging by the construction it was more like they ran out lumber and supplies to finish. The place was crowded with unsavoury characters and women dressed for one purpose. They were barely stopped by the bouncer at the entrance as Sasha said something that sounded like a slur given she spoke to man in a confident and annoyed manner like he was wasting her time by stopping him.

Sasha walked right up the bar and pulled out the gold coin. She placed it on the bar looking Xuefeng the bartender and owner of the ramshackle joint a smug smile. He must have thought she'd seen the last of her two months ago.

But here she was, she looked to Tom who was watching with a subtly curious expression on his face and gave him a half shrug. She couldn't help but feel a little smug as he obviously was trying to figure out how she knew where to go, how she managed to rub shoulders with these people and earn their respect as she knew he hadn't missed how people looked at her.

"A shot of Baiju" she said in Mandarin. He looked to her and her group for a moment before he placed a shot glass on the bar and poured her a shot. She didn't hesitate as she lifted the shot and downed it like it was water.

She then placed the shot glass down on it's side on the bar and spun it anticlockwise for a full rotation before picking it up and placing it top down on the bench. The bar grew quiet as they all understood what the signal meant but for her to make such a move after the last time she was here. Well, it just showed she had balls.

Xuefeng looked at her for a long moment, his eyes flickered over to Tom before he looked to her. She raised an eyebrow as if questioning his delay and in reply he nodded and moved from behind the bar. She knew he had been hesitant because of Tom, it was the reason she hadn't wanted him there. His face was too recognisable just as his reputation for being a do-gooder.

But he was stubborn, so here they were at an impasse but at least they would get to talk to Wu Ming. Xuefeng motioned for her to follow and so Sasha pushed away from the bar and walked over to one of the back entrances with Tom at her back.

Xuefeng took them down a back alley and opened a side door to what looked like an old three story apartment. She followed up the flights of stairs until they reached the top floor. There were guards armed with rifles outside an open apartment door.

It seemed like Wu Ming hadn't changed his address from the last time. But then it wasn't like he had much to fear given he was more of a middle man who owned a sizeable amount of inventory and information that gave a lot of power on the black market but unlike some people he didn't exactly garner respect or fear from his competitors.

Sasha followed Xuefeng into the apartment and couldn't help but smile as Wu Ming hadn't changed at all. He had his little entourage and was at his desk counting currency like he was a king.

"Look who's back." Xuefeng said in Mandarin looking bored tone, he didn't even wait for a reply from Wu Ming before leaving to go back to his bar. Sasha just smiled taking the man's exit as her entrance.

"Wu Ming" Sasha drawled in a light and amused tone. "My good friend. It's good to see you..I think." She drawled in Mandarin, Wu Ming's lips quirked into a mocking smile at her presence but he still continued to count his money. Not even stopping for her.

"What kind of trouble are you in now?" He asked her, he was smug because she had to barter for safe passage from him for herself and Jesse when one of their runs didn't go smoothly. He seemed to believe she owed him more than the payment she'd provided. She couldn't help but return his smile because for once her brother being a famous Navy Captain was going to give her the satisfaction of watch Wu Ming squirm.

"There's someone who wants to meet you." She told him, she gestured to Tom, he lifted his head up showing Wu Ming his face. Sasha watched as Wu Ming was taken back by his presence.

"Why did you bring him here?" Wu Ming asked in a careful tone.

"What's the matter with you? I don't want MSS." Wu Ming told her in a scathing tone like she were a stupid little girl. She just smiled and looked to her Brother who had no clue what was being said.

"He's not so pleased to see you, Tom. Says you're bad for business." Sasha told Tom. Wu Ming continued to speak in Mandarin and Sasha translated for Tom.

"But he knows why you're here. Everyone heard about the kidnapping. He swears he has nothing to do with it and he knows nothing about it." Sasha said, she looked to Tom looking for his cue on what to do and for if he needed her to translate a question for Wu Ming.

"Do you believe him?" Tom asked her.

"Absolutely not." Sasha told him as she knew Wu Ming. He knew something about everything. He might not know where the crew was taken but he would have heard whispers.

"Neither do I." Tom said, he walked up to table in front of Wu Ming and placed his backpack on the table and opened the bag. Sasha stepped up and kept her facial expression neutral as she couldn't believe her brother would peddle weapons for information. If Wu Ming took the deal then Tom was committing a crime. "The latest in Navy weapons. Better than the crap you're peddling. Guns for information." Tom told Wu Ming, the man paused in the counting and looked at the bag's contents with a brief glance and then to Tom.

Sasha started to translate but Wu Ming raised his hand and stopped her. He pointed to Tom's watch and made a 'nnn' noise to indicate his interest. Tom looked to his watch and raised his arm up showing to the man.

"You like this? IWC Chronograph, made for the pilots at Miramar." Tom told him, Wu Ming looked at it with amusement and keen interest.

"Top Gun." he said in English.

"I need answers." Tom said.

"You don't get the watch for nothing, Wu Ming." Sasha said in Mandarin, He looked her and then Tom's watch as if sizing up if it was worth the trouble before he spoke.

"There is a man. Kenji. He came in here bragging about the kidnapping, throwing money around. He says he threw him out of here." Sasha said translating what Wu Ming was saying for Tom.

"Where is this Kenji?" Tom asked, Sasha translated and they both waited as Wu Ming to answer.

"Luilichang." Wu Ming told them.

"Luilichang. It's a flea market." Sasha told Tom.

"You know where it is?" Tom asked.

"I do." Sasha said, Tom turned his attention back to Wu Ming, he was a real piece of work in Tom's opinion.

"Assuming you've told us the truth, you'll never see me here again. If you lied... or should something happen to me when I leave here, my ship will drop a half a dozen tomahawks on this dump you call your kingdom. Now, that would be bad for business." Tom told him, he didn't know why he didn't believe for a moment that Wu Ming didn't understand English as he didn't look like he was lost in the conversation or dependant on Sasha to translate.

He waited for Sasha to translate what he said, she just said a few words, her tone however was loud and clear. He then pulled off his watch and handed it to Wu Ming.

"It's been a pleasure." Tom told him sarcastically, he zipped up his backpack and followed Sasha out of the apartment and down the stairs. It wasn't until they were outside Tom turned to her.

"You owe me a watch." He told her.

"Really?" Sasha said to him. "You were going to sell him Military tech which is illegal by the way." she said being critical of him.

"What did you say to him? It was a lot shorter than what I said." Tom said changing the topic as he swung the backpack onto his back.

"Drop half a dozen Tomahawks on this dump you call a kingdom. That's a little melodramatic don't you think?" She asked him.

"So?" Tom asked.

"You lie, you die." she gave a shrug "Sometimes you gotta keep the message simple." Sasha said in a matter of fact tone as they headed back to meet up with Wolf and Danny.


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: A special thanks to Scousedancer, Starfoxtwin and Crystal Violet for your help on this update and listening to my crazy :-).. Please Enjoy and also a big thanks to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it!_

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

* * *

"Oh, so I took the liberty of booking your doctor's appointment on Monday at 9am. They had a cancellation at Rachel's doctor. Rachel's having your medical records transferred over for you. So they will completely up to speed with everything." Lena told Kate as they were getting serving up dinner onto the plates for them.

"Thanks." Kate said a little glad she didn't have to make the phone calls to do so. Frankly she was just happy Lena was going to be staying as she needed her in St Louis. Not just for the kids but for herself.

"Are you really sick?" Maddy asked her, Kate remembered their earlier discussion and had to remember that Maddy while intelligent didn't grasp that illnesses came in varying degrees not all of them were fatal. As Maddy seemed to assume if a doctor was needed then it had to be bad.

"We talked about it. I'm still working on my health, but I just have to see the doctor to make sure I'm getting better." Kate said half lying. She was pretty sure now was not the time to springing on the girls that she was pregnant with their half sibling and frankly she still needed more than a blood test result to really believe there was a baby in her.

As her symptoms of anaemia and generally recovering were something that she'd been suffering on and off for months. So nausea, fatigue, aches and pains to her weren't something her brain twigged as 'Hey, you're pregnant' and she didn't have any other physical signs as she had gained some weight but there was no bump. Her pants still fit, though she was in the habit of wearing jersey cotton.

"What's wrong?" Zoe asked her, Kate could see the concern in her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm iron deficient. It means I don't eat enough red meat, apricots and green vegetables." Kate told her.

"But you eat heaps of green stuff." Zoe said making a face as she really didn't like green vegetables. She'd eat every other vegetable on offer but not anything remotely green. So Lena and Kate cooked the green vegetables into other foods.

"I do, but I need a little more than the average bear." Kate told her with a smile.

"But don't worry, I'm going to stay with her and make sure Kate eats all of her greens until she's better." Lena told the girls.

"Does that mean we get to stay here too?" Zoe asked.

"Sorry honey, you have to go back to your Mom's but maybe if I ask her real nice she'll let us have a couple afternoons together." Lena said to Zoe.

"Yeah?" Zoe asked perking up.

"I'll ask but that doesn't mean she'll say yes." Lena cautioned her as she didn't want Zoe and Maddy getting their hopes up as she figured as soon as Christina's lawyer told her Lena was pursuing full custody then Christina would hold onto the kids with a death grip just to be vindictive.

"She'll say 'No'." Maddy said squashing whatever little hope Zoe had.

"You never know Maddy." Kate said as she knew Maddy was speaking from experience not trying to be hurtful on purpose.

"I do." Maddy assured her.

"Well, it's worth asking and it's nearly dinner time." Lena said to Kate with a warning look as the phone rang. They had the rule of no phone calls or TV during dinner. Kate nodded as she excused herself to pick it up.

"Hello?" Kate said into the phone, she looked to the clock noting she had 5 minutes before Lena cut off her dessert privileges so she hoped whoever was calling was worth it.

"It's George, how are you?" George Boylan said, he was Kate's Lawyer. He wasn't exactly her favourite person in the world given he never had good news for her but he was working on the custody case for girls.

"I'm 5 minutes away from not getting dessert so make it quick." Kate warned him as she moved out onto the back deck to talk without Lena and the girls eavesdropping. George gave a chuckle.

"It will be worth it. So the judge who presiding over your cases has been disbarred. It has come to light that he doesn't have a valid licence with the Bar Association in Missouri. As such every case he's presided over the past five months are now open to be challenged and put to re-trial." George told her, Kate blinked as her brain processed the ramification of the news for the girls but was coming up blank as she knew nothing about Law.

"How did this happen?" Kate asked him out of curiosity first as she could tell George was pretty pleased with the news which meant she should be happy too.

"Apparently that reporter Jacob Barnes has been poking around Michener's business and found out. The judge who is one and same on your cases; swore in President Michener that day when the Nathan James sailed into town. It turns out he might not even have been a circuit judge which puts into question if Michener's swear in is valid." George added.

"Ok, that's something. What does this mean for our custody case?" Kate asked as she only cared about the girls right now. Whatever happened with Michener was nothing she could act on until it was public record and even then she didn't want to touch it as she already had Jacob trying to tie her into some kind of scandal because of Baltimore. A chapter of her life she wanted to leave in the past.

"It means we have a good chance of winning full custody of the kids. I'm not sure we can reverse what happened with the marriage situation, Judge Astor's a stickler for the rules and you two didn't exactly wait the period out. But I was called by Judge Astor's office, they want Mrs Slattery and myself in his office tomorrow. He wants to settle the matter of custody over the children outside of the courts and the media before shit hits the fan of Judge Whitmore comes out." George told her.

"What time?" Kate asked him, smiling as that was good news.

"9am, make sure she comes 20 minutes beforehand to the courts so I can prep her." He told her.

"I'll let her know, that is great. Thank you" Kate said to him.

"Don't thank me until after tomorrow. Have a goodnight." He told her, Kate hung up the phone and looked to wall smiling as the clock just ticked onto 6pm.

"Just in the nick of time." Lena told her as Kate came back into the house.

"I know." Kate said with a smile as she placed the phone back into it's charger and joined them in the kitchen area.

"Good news?" Lena asked.

"Yes, you have a date with George for tomorrow." Kate told her, they never spoke the specifics of going to court with Maddy and Zoe as they didn't want them to get their hopes up to just get them dashed. They also didn't need Christina trying to interrogate the girls about what was discussed on the weekends. So they just removed a few key words.

"Well, I guess I should wash my hair." Lena said.

* * *

He watched as Sasha walked from person to person asking if they knew where 'Kenji' was. It wasn't looking they were having much luck as most people shook their head and looked way not wanting to associate with them. He was groing impatient as over an hour had passed and they were getting nowhere.

"These people aren't from around here. They all came looking for black-market cure, and no one knows anyone named Kenji." Sasha told him as she too was becoming frustrated with the lack of luck in finding a lead.

"Okay. Where to next?" Danny asked them as he and Wolf joined them, he and Wolf had been asking the other half of market about Kenji given Wolf could speak some Mandarin. He wasn't as fluent as Sasha but he knew enough to get by.

"I don't know." Tom admitted, he wasn't sure if they should keep going or head back to the ship he looked around and found his eyes drift to one of the stall owners who was flogging the cure. Something about the white shirt he wore over a grey long sleeve top annoyed him. He stared at the shirt wondering why it bugged him and suddenly the man turned their way and he realised why. It was a a naval summer dress white uniform shirt and he now clearly saw the bars, name tag that filled in the blanks.

He vision turned red and anger boiled not just at himself for not realising it sooner but because the man flogging the cure had one of his people's shirt on his back. He slid through the crowd with ease and pushed past the customers to the man.

He kneed the man in the gut and pulled the shirt off of his back without a second thought and looked down at shirt, it was filfty and had blood spatter on it. But it was the badge that made him want to kill the man in front of him. It read 'Mike Slattery', angry flared in him as he scrunched the shirt in his hands and grabbed the man by the top.

"Where are they?! Where did you get this?!" He demanded getting in the man's face. He assumed him to be Kenji.

"No English!" the man shouted at him completely petrified of him and Tom felt like telling him that he should be afraid as Tom was ready to rip him to shreds to get to Mike and the others.

"Who gave it to you?! Did you get this from my sailors?" Tom demanded in a harsh tone, he adjusted his grip on the man and slammed him back against the the pile of yellow containers marked as 'cure'.

"No! No English!" The man shouted at him in fear but his false claims of not understanding him weren't going to work.

" _Where did you get this shirt?_ " Sasha demanded in Mandarin as she watched in shock as Tom had lost complete control of his temper. Danny and Wolf were standing guard but Sasha was at a loss as to get Tom back under control so she helped him best she could.

The man shook his head completely afraid for his life. "Where did you get the shirt?" Sasha demanded as she repeated the same question to the man but in Japanese this time as Tom pulled his side arm.

"Tell me what you know!" Tom said as he pulled his side arm and pressed it to the Kenji's chin.

"Men from Vietnam selling clothes. I liked the shirt." The man said speaking in broken English, Tom narrowed his eyes suspicious of him as he definitely knew English. He clicked off the safety on the gun, ready to pull the trigger.

"Who?! Who?! Pirates?!" Tom demanded, he was ready to kill the man.

"No, no! No pirates! Please!" Kenji told him, there was flurry of movement in the market that wasn't related to them. Sasha looked up and saw MSS agents filling the market place.

"Captain. MSS are here. Time to go." Wolf said informing them. Sasha pulled on Tom's shoulder getting him to ease up the man as they needed to get moving. Tom looked up to the heavily armed men and couldn't help but agree with Wolf's suggestion but he definitely wasn't going to leave the asshole in front of him behind.

"You're coming with us." Tom told Kenji pulling him to his feet and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and forcing him through the crowd.

* * *

"It's like they're taking our blood and feeding it to half their crew." Mike said as he laid on the floor of the hut trying to regain his strength. But failing miserable as he was too hungry and dehydrated to move.

"During our first trials, when you got sick, Dr. Scott used Bertrise's blood to buy some time. Maybe they're sick." Rios speculated.

"Why take our blood when there's a cure?" Garnet asked him.

"Possible there's a mutation in the virus and our blood is helping buying them time as it boosts their body's performance and keeps the virus at bay." Rios offered.

"Wouldn't the cure in our blood... well cure them?" Miller asked him as he was keeping a lookout for guards.

"Not necessarily. I'm speculating here. But if they need our blood it explains they gave steak and apricots; both are rich in iron." Rios said.

"Great, they're fattening our blood up before draining us." Mike drawled in a dry manner, he wondered how much longer they'd all be able to survive the blood loss. He knew from Kate's experience that it could be months but then none of them were genetically modified and she'd been kept hydrated and feed through tubes in a lab. While they were locked in a hut and had a bucket with cups but no food yet.

"Sir," Miller said.

"Yeah?" Mike asked.

"I think I found a way out of here. The can." he gestured to what was their 'toilet' "The bolts are rusted, I lifted it up and there's a gap between the hut and pit big enough that Diaz and I could slip out. They'll never know how we got out. I'm thinking we pick our moment, slide through, down and out, get past the perimeter, see what's out there, report back." Miller told him, his tone filled with purpose and confidence.

"I don't like it. Too many guards, too many dogs." Mike argued as he remembered mostly what the camp looked like.

"We can handle it, Sir. They gotta feed us, and if they want our blood they'll give us more red meat. We'll steal some and toss it to the dogs. If they don't alert the guards then we're all good. They won't kill us, sir. Not if they need our blood." Miller said, Mike could see the two young men had given the plan a lot of thought and were confident in it working. He had to admit it was better than lying around waiting for rescue. It would also speed things up if they could help the crew find them.

"See if we can get the meat to distract the dogs first. Go from there but good idea, Miller." Mike said, the sound of food making his stomach cramp painfully with hunger.

* * *

Tex kissed Anna as he kept a slow, steady pace. He tried not to think about how good she felt so tight and slippery around his cock. Instead, he focused on her reactions. Gauged her breathing and all the little hitches he caused when he drove deep. He found the spot she liked and angled his hips to hit it just right.

It didn't take long before she was digging her fingernails into his back, arching up to meet his thrusts. Tex felt the crushing weight of his climax bearing down on him.

Sweat beaded on his skin, and he recognized he was nearing the point where all rational thought vanished. Where all that existed was his own body and the pleasure he could wring from it. But he held back as he never came first and that was a matter of pride for him.

He eased an arm under her hips to raise her slightly off the kitchen counter top and pushed into her until he was seated to the hilt. She tensed and clutched his biceps, making desperate little panting noises that made Tex feel like the biggest stud on the planet. Her eyes were dark, with only thin rings of light brown around her pupils. Her hips undulated, grinding her clitoris against his pubic bone, pushing her closer to the edge.

"That's right," he whispered to her. "Almost there, honey." He pinched her nipple and gave it a slight tug.

"So close" Anna breathed as she gave a small noise of pleasure as she fought to stay quiet. Her hips bucked harder and Tex shifted, giving her the extra friction she needed in short, hard thrusts. He felt her climax ripple through her belly and tighten the muscles gripping his penis as a flicker of movement at the kitchen window caught his eye. It was the face of a man perving on them.

"Shit." he cursed as he instinctively pulled Anna off the counter without thinking about their current situation, and yanked them both down the ground behind the kitchen counter.

But in his haste he forget about the logistics and slipped on his pants that were on the floor and fell backwards taking Anna with him. He cursed as her forehead cracked him in the mouth. He tasted blood, not entirely sure if it was his or Anna's as they were a jumbled mess of limbs on the floor.

"Ow, you ok?" Anna asked him, she lifted her head up to look at him. "What happened?" she asked completely disorientated.

"No." Tex groaned ignoring the second question.

"Your junk ok?" she asked him as she pulled herself off him completely but kept to the cover of kitchen island. Her forehead hurt like hell, not to mention the rest of her. She gingerly touched her forehead and found it bleeding. She pulled a clean tea towel from the bottom drawer and pressed it to her head as Tex pulled himself to a seated position.

"My junk?" he asked her incredulously as he tried not to laugh. "It's fine, my ego not so much." he told her as an incessant knock sounded at the door. He shook his head in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked as Tex got to his feet.

"I'm going to kill the pervert at the door." he growled as he bet his left nut that it was same man he saw looking through the window.

"Pants." Anna told him, not that she minded seeing him walk around naked but she didn't want other people seeing him.

"Right." Tex said, Anna picked up his pants from the floor and tossed them at him. He quickly pulled them on and grimaced as he zipped them up over his sensitive erection. He was definitely going to kill whoever was at the door.

"Yes?" Tex said as he swung the door open, he really didn't give a shit what he looked like but he had a feeling it he looked a little wild as the man in a suit looked taken aback.

"Hi, I'm Jacob Barnes." He said introducing himself, holding out a business card. Tex snatched the card out his hand and looked at it for a moment.

"Oh good, I have a name and work address for when I file the police report about you being a peeping tom." Tex told him, a tell tale blush crossed the man's cheeks. He'd prefer to kill the guy but that would mean prison time and frankly he wanted to keep the life he had and frankly the man in front of him wasn't worth prison time.

"I wasn't looking- I barely saw-" He started but Anna cut him off.

"What do you want?" Anna asked as she joined them. She was wearing Tex's shirt and had the tea towel pressed to her forehead.

"I want to know about- are you bleeding?" Jacob asked her.

"Yeah, if you had a boyfriend then you'd be getting laid instead of cock blocking and endangering my life on a Saturday night. You have two minutes before I get a gun and if you knew what I was like in Baltimore you'd have never knocked on my door to begin with let alone perved on me through the window. Actually, on seconds thoughts. I'm just going to go get my gun." Anna told him as she caught him looking at her legs.

"I apologise. I wasn't being a pervert. I was seeing if someone was home. I wanted to talk about Baltimore." Jacob clarified.

"Still getting my gun." Anna announced as she walked away from the door. It seemed to motivate Jacob to leave as Tex watched the man run off of their property.

"He's gone." Tex said as he shut the door and turned back to Anna. He gave her an amused smile as he had to admit it was funny watching a grown man run for his life across their front lawn.

"Good. Now I have to call Kate." Anna huffed.

"How about you come here and let me look at your head and then we'll call her." Tex said as he walked up to Anna and pulled away the tea towel. She winced in pain as Tex probed around the area.

"My teeth cut you." He informed her as she had a mean cut, it was small but jagged.

"Does it need stitches?" She asked as it was bleeding a lot.

"Nah, some superglue with fix it." Tex told her, his front teeth still hurt from the contact. This was not how he pictured his Saturday night. Definitely the sex but not the interruption or injuries.

"Won't fix my mood." Anna said as she was really pissed about their hot sex being interrupted. She didn't care if it meant disinfecting the kitchen before Kat came home from her friend's house. Because she liked spontaneous sex and the cuddling afterwards.

"I'll fix that." Tex said with a teasing smile, deciding to let go at his annoyance of Jacob and focus on Anna and getting their night back on track before Kat came home.

"Yeah?" Anna asked playfully pulling on the belt loops of his pants. She took a deep breath enjoying the earthy scent of skin as it reminded her of what they had been enjoying before they were rudely interrupted.

"But in the bedroom with all the curtains closed." Tex told her before he gave her a soft but promising kiss.

"Sounds good." Anna said before she kissed him back.

* * *

They'd just made it to the entrance of the docks when a large group of MSS agents race by. Danny was the first to stop them and gave the signal pulling Kenji down to hide behind fishing cages. Tom and Sasha turned their backs while Wolf ducked behind some stacked pallets.

"Cobra Team, this is Vulture Team. Rally point Alpha is blocked. Heading to rally point Bravo. Do you copy?" Tom asked as he turned his comms back on.

" _Captain, Zebra is compromised. We've got MSS crawling all over the place. We'll get to rally point Bravo when able. I say again, rally point Bravo when able._ " Cruz said, Tom looked to Danny and gave a nod with his head signalling their retreat back the way they came so they could circle through the town to get to Bravo rally point.

They barely made it down a block when Danny pulled them to a stop at the opening of the side alley they were in. Tom moved to stand beside him and saw the situation.

"MSS on all sides." Danny stated, Tom could see what he meant and he honestly wondered why Peng was so intent on capturing them. That and he couldn't believe the sheer amount of MSS agents he had but then Tom had a feeling not all of them were intelligence officers but normal military dressed in black to help them blend some what into the crowds as just another rogue mercenary group. It was the only reason he assumed the pirates and riff raff of Shanzai hadn't fired.

"We're outgunned. We need a choke point." Tom said.

"There. Through the bar." Sasha said from behind them, Tom looked to the bar and gave a nod as it would have to do. They couldn't just sit and wait.

"It's worth a shot." Tom said, he looked to Wolf; the man pulled out a smoke grenade and pulled the pin throwing it into the middle of the street market between them and the bar. People around them turned at the smoke grenade sent out plumes of white smoke into the area. Once there was enough cover, Tom tapped Danny on the shoulder and the man pushed Kenji in front of him towards the bar.

"MSS! MSS!" Danny shouted. It seemed to be a call to arms as the pirates and locals pulled out their weapons and started firing on the MSS knowing they were strangers in town.

* * *

Master Chief's been gone for over two hours. " Garnet said as they were currently been lead away from their hut through the jungle. To where? Mike had no clue but he hoped it was for food as he could smell the scent of steak in the air.

"You tend to pass out afterwards." Mike told her.

"How long was the needle in your arm, Captain?" Rios asked him as they followed their guards.

"Half-hour, give or take. It's like they're taking our blood and feeding it to half their crew." Mike commented though he'd only seen one man sucking up his blood. He had to assume now that they were targeted not just because they were Nathan James Crew but they were selective as they were all different blood types. If Burk and Green had been captured they would have had a whole set.

They reached a large clearing that looked like the camp's version of a mess hall and Mike immediately zeroed in on the food as steaks were being cooked on a makeshift grill. There was one long table left plain but laden with apricots, leafy green vegetables and steak.

The man that had taken Mike's blood walked over to the table looking much healthier than he did last night. There was a pep in his step that bugged Mike as he looked at them like they were house guests not prisoners.

"A feast for you. Eat." He said to them.

"Apricots and steak... All rich in iron." Rios mumbled under his breath to them. Mike stepped up first as he knew they might as well accept the hospitality and frankly they needed the food not just for nourishment but also to help Miller and Diaz in their mission to suss out the camp. Dogs weren't going to bark if they had steak in their mouths. The man stepped in front of him.

"You join me, Captain." he said gesturing to a table further away. It had been set up with a white table cloth and silverware. Nice glassware like one would expect in a fine dining restaurant.

"I eat with my crew." Mike told him, but he shook his head.

"No, no, no. You're a Captain. You eat with me." He told him, Mike tilted his head at the others motioning for them to eat as he followed his captor. He gingerly sat down at the table while his captor sat down and flicked out a napkin making himself at home like a civilised gentleman.

Mike watched him even though he really wanted to stuff his face full of food but this was a power play and he wasn't going to cower and he most definitely wasn't going to act like an animal given his captor felt the need for civility.

"You were military before the pandemic." Mike said, he watched as the man in front of him picked up chopsticks and ate a piece of chopped fruit.

"Japanese Maritime Self-Defense." He answered as before he continued to eat the meal in front of him.

"We probably met at RIMPAC one summer. You a captain?" Mike asked him as he started to eat slowly himself. He couldn't help but want to be just as controlled at the man before him.

"That was another life." He told him before he took a sip of water from the crystal wine glass on his side of the table.

"And now you're a pirate." Mike finished for him.

"Times changed. I adapted." He told Mike casually.

"Funny. I didn't get that memo. Bad as things got, I never went around kidnapping innocent people, draining their blood." Mike told him.

"Innocent." the man huffed in amusement. "You're partner perhaps but you no." he said.

"What would you know about my partner?" Mike asked as he couldn't help but be a little lost as who he was referring to but decided to play along.

"Keito-san, -ah sorry Kate" He said in a more clear manner. "She's been through much in her life and yet she still helps those around her even to those who cause her the greatest pain. Something that hasn't changed over the years." He said with a smile.

"So this is about her?" Mike asked even more confused as to what Kate had done to wrong this man that he'd do this to him and his crew. The man just smiled and shook his head.

"No, it's about your country and it's crimes against mine. You and the others are going to help me get my vengeance for the atrocities committed against my people." He told him in a simple manner.

"We haven't done anything against the Japanese People-" Mike started to argue but he was cut off.

"You can lie to me all you want but I know the truth." He told Mike shutting down the conversation. Mike held his tongue as he didn't want to push the man as he didn't know how he would retaliate.

* * *

" _Cobra Team. We're taking fire here at rally point Bravo._ " Tom said over the comms.

Alisha looked down at the screen at the Helo bay video feed seeing that Jesse was getting ready to leave. She knew she only had one shot to get the woman on their side and was about to race out of CIC when Cameron grabbed her by the arm.

" _Roger that, Vulture. We're trying to exfil Zebra for Bravo. We'll be there as soon as we can._ " Cruz shouted half of his transmission was filled with background noise of gunfire.

"Where are you going?" Cameron asked her in a harsh tone as he hadn't given her orders to leave and she was supposed to be acting as TAO.

"She can't leave, we need her helo." She told him, she had been waiting for Jesse to wake up and join their fight. It was why she'd sent down the hot meal with a cherry cola and smokes. Cameron told her it was a waste time but the Captain told her to get Jesse on board with them.

"She's prepping for launch with a gunner. We just need to give her coordinates which is your job TAO." Cameron told her as he pointed to the screen Alisha had been looking at a moment ago to see the flight crew moving the helo out to the deck and indeed a sailor armed waiting to go with Jesse who was standing there waiting with a cigarette smoking like she had all the time in the world.

"How-" she started to ask how he got Jesse on board but shut her mouth as she had her duties.

* * *

"Please no... No Takehaya... No Takehaya." Kenji screamed over the gunfire but half of what he said was chewed up by all the noise of gunfire was they were pinned down by the MSS for the past 20 minutes.

Kenji was losing his shit which was pissing Tom off. The man tried to jump up but Tom yanked him back down as Kenji was the only lead their had and he wasn't going to let the man get shot because he was afraid and blindly following his instincts to run.

"What are you saying?" Tom demanded.

"Not supposed to keep the uniforms. I was supposed to burn it. He will kill me." Kenji told him.

"Who? Who told you to burn the uniforms?! Who?!" Tom demanded.

"Takehaya." Kenji said, a few rounds of gun fire hit the sand near them and Tom covered his eyes and ducked down further but in his reflexes to protect himself He'd let go of Kenji. The man pushed away from him before Tom could grab for him and ran into the line of fire.

"Kill me!" Kenji begged and he dropped to his knees, he got his wish as several bullets flew into his chest. Tom rose from his spot just to see the man's body drop and then laid down cover fire. Angry at himself for not having a better grip on the man and also pissed at the MSS for coming after them.

The firefight continued between them but for every man they shot, there seemed to be two more that would take his place. Tom wondered what the hell they were going to do when a helo rising up sounded behind them, he ducked down behind his cover and reloaded fresh ammo into his gun. Ready to fire upon the helo but stopped as he saw it was Jesse in her helo with a gunner.

The gunner cut down their enemy in a matter of seconds as his higher altitude gave him a better range of fire. Tom heard Jesse's voice in his ear ordering him and the others to the beach and made the hand gesture to those around him.

"Move, move!" he shouted over the noise as he chased after Sasha who took lead down the hill to the beach.

* * *

"We got some meat Sir." Diaz said, Mike tried to keep the jokes rolling his brain to himself as he watched Diaz pull a red napkin out of the front of his pants and showed him several chopped up pieces of steak.

They'd just come back from their meal which left Mike at least physically satiated as he had food and water in him but he had a lot more questions. Like how Kate knew the guy holding them, the 'atrocities' the Nathan James and America committed. Honestly he was beginning to wonder if maybe the guy was messing with Mike but now wasn't the time ruminate on it.

"Let's-" Mike started but the lock on the door sounded and Diaz rushed to his bedding stashing away the meat. The rest of them formed a wall to block the guards view just as the door opened. The guards dragged in Jeter and dumped his body on the floor and left the room locking the door behind them.

"Hey. Russ." Mike said rushing to his old friend. He helped lift Jeter up so he was sitting up. He looked like hell. "Russ, how you doing?" Mike asked him as the man looked like he was struggling to stay conscious and his breathing was erratic. Rios dropped down to his knees and felt for Jeter's pulse on his wrist.

"His heartbeat is too low." Rios said before he checked the man over a bit more. "He's dehydrated." Rios said.

"Here." Garnet said as she got a cup of water and brought it over. She helped Jeter drink it but he tried to guzzle it so Mike gently pulled the cup away.

"Whoa. Slow, slow. Slow down." Mike said as he took control of the cup helping Jeter take smaller sips.

"They had him in there too long." Rios said. Mike looked to Garnet, she gave a nod as she carefully took over his spot holding Jeter up and helping him to calm down. Once freed, Mike moved back to Diaz and Miller.

"Sir?" Miller asked, not as in wondering what Mike would say but asking permission to go.

"Let's see this exit strategy." Mike told them, they moved over to the makeshift toilet which was just a hole cut out of the bench that led to a shallow pit. Miller pulled up the 'seating' and Mike scrunched his nose at it as he was glad he was too big to squeeze into such a small space as the odour coming from the hole left something to be desired. "I still don't like it." Mike told them and it was the smell he didn't like but that they hadn't pushed their captors into punishing them. If they got caught there was no telling what their punishment would be.

"Sir, you said it. We need to help the Nathan James find us. If we go now, we can be back before dinner." Miller said to him. Mike looked down into the pit seeing the gap that Diaz and Miller could easily slip through to freedom.

"Ok, go." Mike told them.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

"Jesse." Sasha said as she came to their share quarters. She leaned through the doorway looking to Jesse watching her unpack her bag into one of the small wardrobes. The crew on the ship had been good to them in giving them some clothes and toiletries to use while they were on board.

"Don't." Jesse told her, But Sasha couldn't help herself.

"Thank you." Sasha told her, she had to say it after Jesse came for her and the others. She'd saved them all with that gunner and getting them off Shanzai. Now she was sticking around, they were sharing sleeping quarter. Sasha could only hope that Jesse would cut her some slack and be civil even if Jesse hated her.

"I did it for me and my sticking around isn't for or about you. Lt Commander Burk came to me and offered me a job. Not that money means much to me but apparently Kate's husband is one of the captured sailors and hey. I wouldn't mind a billionaire to owe me a few favours." Jesse said with shrug as she continued packing away the stuff the crew gave her. They were all weirdly generous as she was used to everything coming with a price tag whether it be a favour or cure. Not like the people on the ship needed the latter.

"Ok." Sasha said as she got the message loud and clear. Jesse was not here for her and what she'd done was purely for her own selfish purposes but it didn't matter to Sasha because she was still grateful.

"But I'm glad I could pull your ass out of the fire. It's a bit like old times." Jesse said, she threw a small smile over her shoulder at Sasha which reminded her of when they were together.

"Well, for what it's worth I'm really happy you're staying." Sasha said to her.

"I doubt that as I'm taking the bottom bunk." Jesse informed her, Sasha couldn't help but smile. "And maybe in time we can be friends?" Jesse asked her.

Sasha nodded as she felt hope bloom inside her chest at them mending their relationship as she did miss Jesse. While they might work as a couple, she could use a friend. "I'd like that." Sasha told her sincerely.

"So, the Captain is your brother?" Jesse asked her.

"Yeah." Sasha said with a sigh as she had talked to Jesse about what happened between her brother and her. Though she'd been very drunk at the time. Both of them had been drunk and there was something about Jesse that made it so easy to tell her all of her darkest secrets. Maybe it was the lack of judgement and understanding or Sasha's need to not be cloistered in secrets all the time as her job did to her.

"He the one who said all that Malarkey to you?" Jesse asked her.

"Yeah, I deserved it. Just as I deserve the blame for Guangzhou. I didn't know about it but then I should have known. I swear I didn't know anything about the missiles but I didn't dig deep enough I should've found a way-"

"You were keeping your nose clean. Let's face it whatever Guangzhou was about probably would've gotten you killed too." Jesse said, reluctantly admitting to herself that she couldn't place all the blame on Sasha for what happened and frankly she could see Sasha was hurting as much as she was; that was enough for both of them.

"I promise you that we'll get Peng." Sasha said to her, Jesse gave a nod acknowledging her words even if she didn't really believe her. Jesse wanted to but Sasha and Tom had to uphold their own code as Naval officers. She was about to say something to that effect when Tom walked past their door and stopped. He gave her a nod and looked to Sasha.

"Sasha, a word." he said.

"Ok." Sasha said, she gave Jesse one last look and then followed her brother leaving Jesse to her thoughts.

* * *

Mike wanted to pace the floorboards but knew it was a waste of good energy. Energy he'd need as he had this wild hope that maybe the boys would find an escape off the island and if that was true then he'd have to carry Jeter who was too weak at the moment. Even if he was looking better. He was worse than Mike after his draining.

So he sat on the floor with his legs crossed twisting his wedding ring around his finger think of his girls. Another place he mentally shouldn't be as he worried about how they were coping with his current predicament. He wondered in they knew but then Kate had her sources. He knew at some point they'd be paraded on camera, so between Jeter, Garnet and himself they had a rough idea of their longitude and latitude. Something they already discussed in how they'd tell people back home. He knew Tom and Kate would pick up on it immediately. He had to believe they were somehow coordinating their efforts to rescue Mike and the others as Mike knew Kate wouldn't be able to sit back, something which made him smile but also led to him wondering how the leader knew her.

He was a Japanese Naval officer, Mike knew the man had a sense of honour even if it was bent out of shape. He knew by how the man held himself. The way he ate his meal in meticulous movements and didn't lose his temper when Mike goaded him over the meal. He'd been trying to figure out what America had done to Japan. At least what the Pirate leader believed. But he was under the delusion that Mike was completely cognisant of his crimes.

Dogs started barking wildly outside and Mike looked up from his thoughts and heard the door to their hut open. Diaz and Miller were tossed into the room and the door promptly closed and locked.

"You boys ok?" Mike asked him, They both nodded; covered in sweat and dirt. The only injuries he could see was Diaz's broken nose and cut to Miller's brow. Rios got them both water and Mike kept his other questions to himself giving them a chance to rest.

After Miller finished a few gulps of water, he placed his cup on the ground and looked to Mike.

"I ran east for 100 paces before I hit water, then north for 600 paces. I saw another beach with several small boats in the sand. Guards all around. There's no way down." Miller told them.

"600 yards to a waterfall. I followed the river to a cliff about 200 feet above a cove. I found a radio tower. Looked operational." Diaz said to them. Mike's interest peaked at the mention of the radio tower. He exchanged looked with Garnet and Jeter as the radio tower was something they could use even if they had no way off the island. They knew more now than they did before.

* * *

"Takehaya? You're sure that's what Kenji said?" Sasha asked Tom as they stood on the deck of the Nathan James. She pushed her hair away from her face as the wind was blowing a gale.

"That's what it sounded like." Tom said with a nod. He wanted to talk to Sasha away from the others so he could get his bearings on the situation.

"Well, he's a pirate. Sort of a legend in the South China Sea. He and his crew have taken credit for ripping off hundreds of ships in the region." Sasha said folding her arms across her chest as she honestly didn't understand the connection to Tom's kidnapped people. "To add to his mystique, he adopted the name Takehaya... The Japanese god of sea and storms." she added.

"And how do we find this Takehaya?" Tom asked her. Sasha shook her head.

"Nobody's ever been able to track him. He's a ghost." Sasha told him.

"So, is he real or not?" Tom asked her. Sasha took a deep breath gathering her thoughts on the subject trying to figure out how it all connected.

"He's real. But I heard that he was dead." Sasha told him, she'd heard he was dead from Peng which didn't mean much. But it did lend to a theory in her head now that Peng was after them. They'd inadvertently stumbled onto something but what that was? She wasn't sure she could say.

Not to Kenji. He chose to let MSS shoot him to pieces rather than rat on the legend. No ransom, no demands. If Takehaya's a pirate, what the hell does he want with us?" Tom asked her.

"I don't know." She said with a shrug.

"But you know something." He said looking at her. She gave him a smile as she knew he was baiting her and that it was a test to see if she would hold back and keep secrets or actually let him in. So she decided not to deny him.

"I- I have a theory." Sasha said, as she didn't know a bit more but it was speculation at best.

"let's hear it." Tom told her.

"I believe he's former military, Japanese Maritime Self Defence and if he is then he's one of the very few Japanese survivors of the virus. I heard rumours that maybe the mutation was a weaponised attack against Japan by the US and China. He could be under a deep cover operation as a Pirate to find information substantiate those rumours and to get cure to his people. Cover as Pirate gives him the standing and access to information he needs." Sasha told Tom, she held her breath waiting for him to argue her theory and tell her she was stupid. She hadn't shared it with him because she knew how it sounded. How it reflected on their government and country that they could have actively engaged in genocide with another country. But then it was a theory.

"That's quite a theory. Why didn't you mention it before?" Tom asked her.

"Because I have no proof and it makes me sound like a loon. Dr Scott said the virus couldn't mutate. If it can't mutate then how can you explain how Japan's population has taken a steady decline even with the cure being brought in by our people? Why would we bypass Japan for China when delivering the cure?" She asked him, Tom had to admit he wasn't sure how to answer those questions as Alex the secretary of International affairs had made the argument that it was more efficient to deliver the cure en masse to China and distribute from there to the rest of the region. But even he had to admit it did raise some questions in his head that he wasn't ready to ask.

"If Takehaya has a Japanese destroyer; Atago or Kongo class then it could explain why he's been able to build a reputation for himself so effectively. It also means finding him is going to be a real pain in the ass." Tom remarked thoughtfully as it reminded him of Admiral Ruskov.

"It would explain why he kidnapped your crew. He could be interrogating them as we speak for information. Mike was your X.O. for years-"

"Damnit." Tom cursed cutting her off as he winced at the thought of his friend being a prisoner. How that was going to ripple throughout his world and affect Kate and Mike's girls. He knew Kate would go off the handle, the woman was pregnant and had nearly unlimited resources. Sasha remained quiet and waited for him to process his anger and clear his head.

* * *

Mike was forced to his knees by the guard behind him. He pulled on the restraints that held his hands behind his back feeling the rope cut into his skin. But anger at being subjugated to a Pirate really ate at his pride especially given their leader who Mike now knew was called 'Takehaya' was standing there the vision of health because of his blood.

They'd been led to the clearing that was filled with over fifty armed men all calling out the name 'Takehaya' like a chant. Takehaya just stood at the front of the crowd with his hands on his hips like a rock star while his second in command strutted around with a 9mm pistol.

He cocked the pistol and the crowd around them silenced, Takehaya's second moved to Diaz at the left end of their line. Mike could see out of his peripheral that

"Oh, God." Diaz muttered in fear.

"Stay strong."Jeter told Diaz as Takehaya's second moved onto him and pointed the gun at his head. Jeter stared up at the man holding the gun. Whatever he was looking for it wasn't in Jeter as he walked to Mike.

"Look him in the eye." Mike advised not scared at all as it wasn't the first gun to be held to his head and he knew they needed their blood. They weren't going to kill them not when they were needed.

* * *

Rachel gave a frustrated huff as Evie and Olivia were both incredibly fussy and crying in spurts for the last few hours. It didn't make sense as they were both perfect all day only voicing a cry here and there when they were hungry or in need of a change but now Rachel had no clue. She didn't want to admit it but she had leaned heavily on Tom to help her with them and this was the first few days she was really on her own.

Sure she had Jed, but the man slept like a rock which meant she had to suck up her pride and go wake him up which right now made her want to cry as she didn't want to wake up for crying babies when she was their mother. She was supposed to know them well enough to be able to calm them and make them happy but it was a struggle.

She could barely get one to settle in enough time and she had two babies. She couldn't rock and hold them both at the same time. She'd tried and then nearly dropped Olivia. Now she'd managed to get a somewhat grumpie Olivia sly placated in her swing chair watching TV but Evie refused to be calm unless Rachel was in perpetual motion which at 2am in the morning was not a bucket of fun. She was a slave to Evie pretty sure letting Olivia watch the TV was not winning her mother of the year awards. But at least they both weren't screaming right now but they were making grumpy huffy noises.

She moved her feet, tears in her eyes as she wanted Tom to walk through the door and take over. For him to assure her this was all completely normal and she was doing ok. She hadn't realised how much she depended on Tom and others to reassure her. She mentally told herself that she should relish in the small victory of getting them both semi-settled on her own.

"Gah," Olivia spouted, Rachel turned around to see the news was gone and there on the screen was Mike and the other missing crew members. They were dressed in in well worn clothes and looked pale and drawn. They were surrounded by men carrying guns.

"Oh my God." Rachel said, she moved Evie into a one arm hold and moved to the phone and dialled Kate.

* * *

Kate picked up the phone on her bedside table. "You woke the puppy." she said into the phone, as Scout gave tiny yelps which only made her brain wake up but she kept her eyes closed as she was deliciously cocooned in her bed under the blanket.

"Kate go turn on your TV now." Rachel told her.

"Rachel?" Kate asked still half asleep and frankly not wanting to move.

"TV, Now." Rachel ordered her in a sharp tone that made Kate snap up awake. Years of acknowledging that tone like an Alarm got her out bed.

"Ok," Kate said as she pulled the blankets off her body and rose out of bed. She had to admit that Rachel was being bossy and given the hour it couldn't be good news.

"But not the main lounge room." Rachel told her.

"You're so bossy for 2:05 in the morning." Kate told her as she picked up Scout and headed down the stairs to the study. She figured she could kill two birds with one stone after she watched whatever Rachel wanted her to see.

"- _Navy. Serial Number 171811120. I and five members of my crew are prisoners of war."_ Mike said, Kate sank to the floor as her knees gave out. Tears silently streaked down her face as he looked terrible with his face heavily bruised and pale. She took a slow and steady breaths as fatigue and panic clashed in her body. She ruefully reminded herself this was why she had asked Anna to work with her among other reasons. Between the two of them they had the strength of one healthy person to deal with these problems. Right now she was ready to curl up on the floor and let Tom deal with it as she just felt washed out by it all.

"I have to call you back." Kate said hanging up on Rachel, she looked down at the phone and dialled Val's number.

"What?" Val asked, she sounded completely awake while Kate's was still reeling from what was happening on the TV. She had wanted some sort of communication but she hadn't really prepared herself for the visuals given they couldn't communicate via video. But here the bad guys had HI-DEF

"Turn on your TV, there's broadcast. I need you trace it." Kate told her as she watched the screen. The video continued to move from Mike, to Jeter.

"Ok give me five seconds." Val told her, Kate waited hearing Val typing on her computer at a fast pace. She stayed on kneeling on the floor as she was too tired to get up, Scout came in front of her and rubbed his head on the back of her hand to get her attention. She gave him a back rub and the pup laid down on his belly enjoying the attention. Kate knew it was getting close to his usual nightly outing for the bathroom but figured he'd let her know when it was time.

" _Russell Jeter. Master Chief, United States Navy. Serial number 153511508."_ Jeter said.

"You got it?" Kate asked Val, getting impatient as she wanted to know if they could anything to help Tom find Mike and the others. She had a bad feeling about Mason given he wasn't on the screen.

"Everyone's got it. These guys are broadcasting at Hi-Def." Val told her.

"Can you trace it?" Kate clarified as she watched Garnet give her name rank and serial number to the camera.

"I can't, I'm sorry. It's a sky wave. It works like a HAM radio signal except it's bounced off the ionosphere instead of towers and satellites. Anybody can pick it up but I can't trace back the source." Val told her, Kate felt her heart sink into her stomach as they couldn't find the source then they couldn't find Mike.

"Ok, can you make sure we have a copy of this so we can review?" Kate asked her.

"Definitely and let's be honest the news channels are going to be all over this and running a loop of it. So I'll hack into their servers and download a copy and email it to you." Val told her.

"Thank you." Kate said.

* * *

" _America, I want you to see this. You have inhabited our lands and our seas for far too long. The plague has killed, but you're killing more. We want you out. So, Jeffrey Michener, you will hear my demands. There are two U.S. Navy destroyers at the port in Okinawa. You will order them to turn around and move out of Asian waters. I have already executed one of your sailors. Do not test me. If you do not comply within 36 hours, the executions will continue_." Takehaya said to the screen as if he were talking to Michener directly.

USMC Colonel Samantha Nash stood in the command centre at Norfolk base watching the feed with Major Damon at her side. They'd been going over the logistics of what Captain Chandler was up to and also monitoring the civil unrest in America. Right now, this video was going throw gasoline onto a lit flame.

She straightened her 5ft 9 frame from the table and ran a hand through her naturally black razed undercut hair. Gel was holding it back into a quiff as she hadn't had time to get it cut, though if she wanted she could wear it loose and it would just look like a short bob. Not exactly military regulation but it fit into the strict regs for female haircuts that she got away with it as she always had it quaffed to adhere to a professional look. But then she was currently one of the highest ranking members of the military which was unnerving to say the least when the buck literally stopped at her and others who were of equal rank.

"Who is that?" Michener asked her over the speaker phone.

"That is Takehaya, he's a renowned Pirate in the South China Seas. I briefed you over a month ago as he's been a thorn in Peng's side." Samantha told him, it really stuck in her craw that Michener tried to install a pre-pandemic government but flouted the rules of having a dedicated Military adviser on site in St Louis. The man should have representatives of all the branches of the military in Norfolk that way they could coordinate their efforts when situations such as these occurred.

Right now the military was a jumbled mess; the Army and Marine corps had been fairly decimated in the rioting and the pandemic with only the immune soldiers such as herself and those who just survived out of luck. They decided to pool their people but even they were stretched thin; they had under 500 soldiers and Marines. The Airforce was just barely operational as they only had under 20 pilots that they knew of. The Navy had just over a thousand people just enough to man the three destroyers and some spare left over.

It was not enough bodies to quell the American populace from rioting and definitely not to engage in a war with anyone. Their Recruitment numbers were thankfully up but it took time to train the recruits. There was also the issue that they just didn't have the funding to take on as many people as they wanted even with Lassiter Industries helping fund them. They could only make the funds stretch so far and the economy wasn't booming enough to help roll over enough tax.

Frankly, a good portion of their recruits were people trying to escape poverty which didn't help when they learned the harsh reality of signing up for five years with very little pay, no bonuses. The only thing the Military had going was that they could offer housing and food which didn't eat into their bottom line too hard. But people were greedy and they wanted more without having to put in the effort. Thankfully there were recruits who came to them because they loved their country and truly wanted to serve; they were the ones that made Samantha glad she hadn't retired.

But she had to admit she liked Michener, he seemed to have the presence and appeal of a President but his Chief of Staff and Secretary of International Affairs tended to really piss her off as they were the gatekeepers to seemingly everything. Samantha knew that Tom wouldn't have gone China for a Summit by choice, it was not CNO's job; it was Alex's and she knew Alex fobbed off the summit because he was scared shitless of Peng. Now they were in a mess, the CNO was on the Nathan James and now Takehaya declared war on them.

"Sir, I advise you give into Takehaya's demands" Samantha told Michener, her dark brown eyes locking with Major Damon's as they had their own short hand after months working together. He knew just like her that everything was a bloody mess and right now they had to save the Military from becoming a scapegoat for any poor decisions made by Michener and his cronies.

" _We don't negotiate with Terrorists_." Alex argued over the speaker with her. Samantha looked to the ceiling praying to a higher being for more patience as she hated that cliche line. Sure it was true they didn't negotiate with Terrorists but Alex said it like he was some kind of superhero making a point.

"Takehaya is a Pirate. It's not the same as a Terrorist in Maritime Legal terms and he's not threatening the lives of Americans. Only the Sailors-"

 _"Who are expendable which is why we shouldn't cave to this Takehaya_." Alex argued.

"Sir, those Sailors are national heroes and all he's asking is we withdraw our ships to international waters. Frankly I don't understand why the ships are there to begin with." Samantha said over the line. She knew she was borderline insubordinate in her questioning orders and missions but she couldn't help but wonder why they were bothering with the two destroyers there when she knew Lassiter Industries was working with the Japanese Government directly to investigate the possible mutation. It made the destroyers' presence redundant.

" _They are investigating the virus mutation_." Allison informed her.

"Ms Shaw, you don't send destroyers with no lab equipment or scientists to sit in Okinawa harbour for a week. Remember Takehaya doesn't represent the Japanese government so it's not Japan declaring war. It's Takehaya and his band of pirates who reign over the South China Sea. The issue of the pirates in that area are not our problem." Samantha said plain and simple. The reason they had dismissed in the first place.

" _It is, if we cant to keep our allies happy._ " Allison said, referring to Peng who'd asked for assistance to help fight the piracy but America had their own problems and their destroyers were tied up delivering cure to be hunting Pirates. Michener said the cure was more important. Samantha didn't see why Allison would bring up the argument given sending Tom to the Summit was pretty much giving Peng the middle finger.

"China has it's own agenda. Let them handle the problem and we focus on Takehaya who has our people. So you make a decision Mr President. You can start writing letters to the family members of those six sailors and hold onto an antiquated view that we're still a superpower who won't be bullied or you withdraw the ships and give Tom and the Nathan James the chance to recover the kidnapped crew." Samantha told him, she pressed the button to hang up the phone and looked Damon.

"You think that was bright idea?" he asked her with a wry smile on his lips. Samantha gave a shrug and shook her head.

"No, but I'd rather they call back when they want to talk turkey than gossip like a bunch of high school girls over a cute guy. So let's get back to the video, I want the serial numbers cross referenced with those in the video make sure we have proper confirmation." Samantha told him.

"Yes, Ma'am." Major Damon said.

* * *

 _4 months ago, in the late hour of the night. Mike and Kate laid in their bed completely replete with satisfaction. A sense of content sank into their bones as it always did when they were together in the quiet moments._

 _"Hey, that tickles." Kate said giving a lazy chuckle as Mike traced a scar that ran down her abdomen and bisected across her flank._

 _"You know I could rub some of that oil on these scars. Might smooth them out." Mike said to her, referring to the bottle of oil that Lena had given Kate to help heal her scars and smooth out her dry patches of skin. Kate didn't mind it but she tended to smell like she'd rolled around in a tea shop as the scent was very strong. And, well Kate was a little lazy with her moisturising as it took up energy. Energy she preferred to use for other things like being with Mike and the girls._

 _"What? you trying to get me into a bikini for summer?" she asked with a teasing smile, sweat cooling off their bodies as they lazed in the afterglow. Kate had to admit she loved being off the ship. She and Mike had a lot more sex which was always excellent in her books. It was just a shame he was leaving to Captain the Nathan James._

 _"Nah, but some of them look uncomfortable." He said, it was true some of her scars hurt when she moved but she was sure the oil wasn't going to cure that._

 _"Just scars, but if they bother you I can use the oil while you're away and see if it works." Kate offered him seriously._

 _"I hate that we didn't find you and Rachel sooner." Mike said truthfully as he thought of her time in that lab. Of all the scars on her body just reminders of that horror even if Kate said she wasn't bothered by them. He could tell she was lying to make him feel better._

 _Kate pushed up from her side of the bed and leaned on her elbows. She gave him a serious look. "I'm just glad I was saved, that we're here together. To be honest, if I were in your shoes for those two months... I'd have been a completely useless mess." She told him._

 _"No, you'd go off the reservation, arm yourself to the teeth and find me." He said with a smile as he brushed her hair over her shoulder and cupped her face._

 _"Well, let's hope I never have to do that." Kate said smiling back at him as she leaned into his hand and closed her eyes soaking as much as she could of Mike before he was off to sea._

* * *

"Kate?" Rachel prompted as Kate snapped out of her thoughts and looked to the screen.

"Rachel, sorry I'm ok. You should get some rest." Kate told her as it was 3am, they were watching the news together. The twins had fallen asleep but they were awake. Kate couldn't sleep as she didn't know what to do, more footage came out of Miller and Diaz being whipped. Mike, Jeter, Garnet knelt in the ground looking pissed as they couldn't do anything given they were surrounded by many men carrying weapons.

"The twins are finally sleeping what does it say about my children when a hostage situation on the news settles them to sleep?" she asked her.

"I doubt it was the content of news but the constant hum of the TV. Anyway, who cares?" Kate asked Rachel.

"I do." Rachel told her over the phone.

"You ok?" Kate asked her, Rachel blew out a breath over the phone and Kate waited for her talk.

"It's not easy. I wonder how Darien did it. The way the kids talk she was perfect and I'm a wreck at all of this. Everybody helps me and when I'm on my own I just can't handle it. I remember when I could do anything. I made a cure in a makeshift lab on a ship." Rachel told her.

"I was there and you're not a wreck. You're learning and don't compare yourself to Darien. Their memories of her are rose coloured because they want to remember the good parts of her. You're doing good, you want to know who a bad parent is just look at Christina." Kate said with a tired sigh.

"Yeah, what are you doing about that?" Rachel asked her.

"Lena's going for full custody. She's seeing the Judge today in 6 hours or so. The judge who was on the case wasn't licenced for Missouri." Kate told her.

"That will help?" Rachel asked as she didn't really understand the ramifications of the situation. That and she was sleep deprived.

"Yeah, means he wasn't allowed to pass judgement on any legal cases. So everything he's done from raising his hand saying he was a judge...not legal and thus all his cases open to be re-trialed and so on." Kate explained.

"Wow, how good is Lena's case for full custody?" Rachel asked.

"Fairly good if the judge doesn't get gooey about this POW issue or isn't swayed by Christina and her crocodile tears as you know she'll cry." Kate said with a sigh as she sank down on the couch in the study. Scout who'd been sleeping on her stomach made disgruntled and snuffling noises at being moved but settled down within a few seconds.

"I hope you win." Rachel told her.

"Me too, I need a win. I need the girls with me and Lena." Kate told her, the screen played Mike again. Kate frowned as he said his serial number but it was wrong. It was something he wouldn't make a mistake on which said to her was sending out a message.

* * *

" _Michael Slattery, Captain, United States Navy. Serial number 171811120._ "

"11120." Tom said looked down at the crew roster to Mike's serial noticing the numbers were off. It was the third time they'd watched the video through as Tom felt that there had to be something they could take away from it. He couldn't wonder what Takehaya was trying to gain from what he was doing. Removing the two destroyers from Okinawa didn't do anything but put them into international waters. It didn't serve a purpose, there was nothing in the demand.

" _I and five members of my crew.._."

"Doesn't match. Not his ID number." Tom said with a frown as he wondered what Mike was trying to tell them as he realised the serial number didn't match.

 _"Russell Jeter. Master Chief, United States Navy. Serial number 153511508. I am a prisoner of war._ "

Tom looked at the names and noted Jeter, Garnet and Mike's serial numbers were incorrect. He wrote the numbers on the side of the page to see what they were telling them.

"Those aren't serial numbers. They're geographic coordinates." Tom said as he passed the piece of paper to Gator so the man could plot it out on the map in CIC.

"They must've navigated by the stars." Lt Commander Burk commented in an impressed manner.

"Mike, you clever son of a gun." Tom said with a smile.

* * *

" _Unfortunately, I cannot comment on that at this time. What I can say is we're doing everything that we can to rescue those hostages_." Michener said on one of the TV screens at a press conference he'd called less than half an hour ago.

"Jesus. Every two-bit station in this country is re-airing that footage with an infrastructure that we provided them." Alex said to Allison, the screen switched to Jacob Barnes their least favourite reporter in the White house press.

" _...these images replaying across the world, several questions remain. How long has the President known about the kidnapping? What has he told the families of the hostages, and will he give in to the terrorists' demands?_ " Jacob Barnes said to the camera.

"When did this become a referendum on the President's honesty?" Allison asked Alex as this was a complete mess.

"There's nothing more he can say without compromising the mission." Colonel Samantha Nash said when she walked into room in her olive green marine service uniform, with her cap under her arm. Alex and Allison turned her in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked her.

"I'm here at the request of the President." Samantha told her, she knew she made the two uncomfortable with her presence as she was not one to be ignored when she came into a room. The uniform with it's fruit salad with her haircut add in her height, fit figure and her Maori roots she looked like a warrior woman to be reckoned with which was the image she liked to project.

"We don't need you here." Alex told her.

"You didn't ask me here, the President did. You know that guy who makes all the decisions and runs a country?" She asked him wryly as she walked further into the room and took the faces and all the that was going on in the room. The room was a mess of activity and there was no discernible order to the information placed around the room.

"We have this handled." Allison assured her.

"Yes, I'm sure. Tell me how long would it take for the two destroyers to reach the Nathan James?" she asked them, they both looked at her blankly. "Do you even know what orders to give when we hit trouble waters? How to coordinate the ships if they are to hunt down the kidnapped crew?" She added.

"We had someone-"

"She quit, Jacob Barnes told me that she was a former Lieutenant and she was acting as the Senior Military Adviser. A lieutenant." Samantha scoffed, she had to admit she felt slighted by the move. She liked Kara, the woman was smart and had the chops and the strategic mind to go far but she wasn't experienced enough to hold such a title.

"Kara Foster was an excellent Advisor and she knows the CNO." Alex argued.

"I know my doctor, does that mean I should open a medical centre and take on Patients?" She asked them,

"It's not the same." Allison assured Samantha

"Hmm, well in answer to my earlier question. It would take 15 to 18 hours to reach the James. But there's no point in sending them to the James as it would only raise Peng's ire at us invading his territory." Samantha told them.

"You counselled the President to give in, to turn these ships away from the fight." Allison told her.

"Yes, we only have three destroyers not an armada. The crews on those ships are not expendable. If Chandler needed them, he'd have called for them." Samantha said plainly.

"What about the investigation into the possibility of a second outbreak in Japan?" Alex asked her snidely.

"Like I said those ships haven't investigated dick. You're posturing with the Japanese government to remind them of the treaties they signed in the 1940's. Don't think I can't see through your games, Alex." Samantha told him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

Easy. It's okay. It's okay." Rios told Miller as he wrapped a stint Miller's broken ankle. Takehaya's second in command Toshiro had broken it to make a point. The man was a real asshole and liked to talk in the third person. Mike wondered if it was a personality quirk or that his grasp on the English language was lacking. Either way it didn't stop him from breaking Miller's ankle and having the men beat Diaz and Miller with bamboo sticks as punishment for running away from the hut.

"We got to give the James a smaller target. Even if our trick with the coordinates worked, it's too much ocean to cover." Mike said as he looked to the others in the small group they'd formed to give Miller and Rios the mockery of privacy when there wasn't any.

"Diaz. How tall was that radio tower you saw?" Jeter asked Diaz, the young man looked up as he sat with them looking in pain as Garnett looked over his back.

It wasn't Mike's first time as POW so he couldn't understand how jarring it was for Diaz. He could tell that Diaz hadn't prepared for this scenario and sure they all had SERE training but it paled against the real thing as it was a simulated training where they had safe guards and one could leave at anytime. They also had limits on how much they could simulate in the training. Being beaten with bamboo sticks was not in the training.

"100 feet, maybe." Diaz said clearing his throat joining the conversation.

"You thinking about hacking in?" Garnett asked Jeter.

"Aye, ma'am. Even if I can create some static, the noise should give the James a bearing. If they're in range of the broadcast, they can beeline right for us." Jeter said looking between Mike and Garnett. Mike had to admit it was a good idea.

"What do you need to make the noise? Some kind of shunt?" Mike asked him.

"Any kind of metal to conduct the signal, a..." Jeter stopped as the door to their hut opened. Mike looked over his shoulder to see Toshiro and two of his goons with him.

"To be continued." Mike mumbled to them.

"You, O-Positive. On your feet." Toshiro told him, Mike turned to get to his feet when one of the goons came and pulled him up onto his feet and pushed him out of the hut.

* * *

"Colonel Nash, Welcome to St Louis." Michener said extending a hand out to Samantha as he came into the room. He'd been finishing phone calls with what was left of the Japanese Government. They hadn't nominated a head person for him to associate with instead choosing to be a consortium much like the regional leaders. The only difference was the Japanese government were a very cohesive and efficient group.

They'd advised him to order his fleet away from Okinawa as they felt the presence of the American ships was of no use to them. In fact they'd rather America remain out of their business. It was a line they'd been pushing for the last couple days ever since they gifted Kate with America's debt markers. Michener had wanted to push them to find out why they were basically telling him to piss off when Japan was in crisis instead of asking for help. But he knew they'd be politely evasive and if he wanted the truth it would mean being rude and possibly damaging their relationship as allies.

"Thank you Mr President. It's an honour to serve as your adviser." Samantha said shaking his hand before she stood back to let him take the primary position in the room. Michener looked to the woman and couldn't help but see her as Wonder Woman in a USMC uniform. Her record and reputation was impeccable, she was in his mind a female version of Tom but a little less traditional as she didn't see a problem in being upfront with him and he liked that. Months of working Allison and Alex he always felt like they played the Devil and an Angel on his shoulder. No matter what decision he made one of them was displeased and the regents were never happy. It was like trying to take a bunch of 5 year old kids to a vegan restaurant when all they wanted was cheeseburger happy meals. Colonel Nash like Tom seemed to be more focused on resolving Military issues as they felt there was a clear cut line between Military and the Civilians.

"Yes, and as you know we're in quite a situation." Michener said as he looked to the TV screens that were replaying Takehaya's message once again followed by the abuse of Miller and Diaz. His press conference hadn't made a dent in helping them. If anything it just inflamed the situation given he refused to comment on many of the questions thrown at him. He'd wished he had followed his instincts and waited for Nash to be by his side. He felt that her presence would show support and strength and she would be able to explain the intricacies of why they had to remain quiet and weren't able to answer the reporters questions.

"Indeed, Sir. With your permission. I already have some suggestions that could help ease the situation." Samantha said to him.

"Please." Michener prompted her.

"We should read Kate Lassiter and Anna Hatake into this. I also think you should personally contact all the family members of the hostages. Apologize for the media and offer them a chance to come to St Louis and stay at the hotel next door. Tell them that we'd have to sequester them from the media but in return we keep them in the loop on what is happening with the hostages." Samantha told him, she didn't miss how Alex and Allison reacted at the suggestion.

"No, those are terrible ideas." Allison said straight away. Samantha looked to Michener, she could see he was torn between taking her advice and going with it or sticking to an agenda that wasn't entirely his own.

"Why?" Michener asked Allison as he felt that he did owe the families of the hostages something.

"The family members could blab to the media and if things go south it will look bad-" Allison started.

"What will look bad is a president who doesn't care for the members of the family. If things went south, then the media would eat Michener alive. But my way if the media approached them then they'd be saying how Michener apologized for how they found out. That he supported them as best he could in the crisis because he's involved, he spent weeks on the Nathan James with the hostages." Samantha argued in a calm and somewhat bored tone.

"But he can't do this with every crisis. It would set a precedence." Alex argued, Samantha looked to Michener with a pragmatic expression.

"Sir, with respect. Your Chief of Staff and Secretary of Foriegn Affairs shouldn't have a say in this. While I appreciate Ms Shaw and Mr Rivera's reluctance to my suggestions. You need to remember that these families will be under a spotlight. You need to control the narrative of what they say by your actions. You can't stand apart from the Military families of those who saved you." Samantha told Michener.

"I have to agree." Michener said with a reluctant sigh as Samantha was right. Tom had told him that it was up to him; how he wanted to be seen. "I'm not so sure about Lassiter and Hatake though." he said looking Samantha to explain herself.

"Sir, they only want to help people, something they've been doing since you gave them the power to do so with reopening the banks and helping them revive Lassiter Industries. We know they have a strong relationship with the Japanese Government. They can go in using their own resources to investigate this mutation in their own right which Takehaya can't put on us as they aren't affiliated with your administration. It'll free up our destroyers to come home and give Captain Chandler the time he needs to find the hostages." Samantha told Michener.

"Did they tell you this?" Alex asked Samantha in a snide manner as he didn't appreciate how Samantha spoke directly to Michener ignoring his and Allison's presence altogether.

"Who?" Samantha asked him, acknowledging him for the first time but also acting obtusely because he just wanted him to say it out loud.

"Kate Lassiter and Anna Hatake. They've been undermining this administration from the beginning and I know that MCIA and NAVINTEL has been using their satellite systems as well as the Valkyrie network. How do we know you're not a spy for them-" Alex started but Samantha cut him off with a hard stare.

"Are you calling my loyalty for my country and my service into question?" Samantha asked quirking an eyebrow daring him to question her reputation. She watched as Alex backed down as he recognised that she was the top dog in the room.

"No, but you have to admit that the military tends to be pro Lassiter Industries." Alex told her in an annoyed manner as she was untouchable compared to him and the skeletons he carried in his closet.

"Of course we are, majority of our tech and weaponry in the last decade was produced by them. I also think that it's better to use whatever resources we have at hand than wasting time. We have less than 34 hours until the deadline. We already have one KIA sailor. Let's not tempt fate because you're afraid of rubbing shoulders with a couple of women." Samantha told Alex.

"Are you inferring I'm a misogynist?" Alex asked her incredulously. Samantha ignored the question and turned back to Michener who was watching them like one would a tennis match.

"Mr President we haven't got a lot of time. You asked me down here, this is my advice. You have Lassiter Industries investigate the mutation in Japan. We all know they'll share what they have and they have the scientists to work on the problem if there is a mutation. We can focus on recovering the sailors and go from there." Samantha told him.

"It's a slippery slope introducing Lassiter into this. She'll want control and Captain Slattery's wife will be all over the media telling America how we fucked this up when everything goes south." Allison said to Michener.

"I can't speak for Mrs Slattery but Lassiter unlike some people knows her place. She's not going to roughshod you Mr President. You know this, because she's had five months to do so and anyway we don't have to liaise with them directly. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to keep all of this under the table. It just makes no sense to not utilise all of our assets. They can also help Captain Chandler with his search as they can task their satellites. If you're worried about the image of this office. Then have the company sign non disclosures and use a middle person to act as their representative." Samantha said to Michener. He looked at the TV screen and then to everyone at the table as he retreated into his thoughts.

"Colonel, you really believe this is the best move. Capitulating to the Pirates demands? Involving more people into this?" Michener asked her.

"Yes, I do but we hold out twelve hours and ask the Japanese Government to openly support us to leave Okinawa. If they openly tell us to leave, they save face as they won't appear like the 'abandoned child' and we will be respecting their wishes as their allies. It's a delicate balance of concessions." Samantha told him.

"Ok, we'll do it your way Colonel Nash. I want you to approach Ms Lassiter and if she's interested we'll take things from there. I am going to call the Japanese Embassy directly to discuss these plans." Michener said, he rose from his chair and left the room to contact the Japanese Government.

"Unbelievable." Allison said in disgust after the doors closed behind Michener. Samantha just smirked at her as she had a feeling this was the first time Allison and Alex hadn't been able to get Michener to dance to their tune as even Alex looked annoyed as he left the room to call someone.

"It's the most logical steps to take. You just don't like it because I didn't have to get down on my knees to convince him." Samantha said, she left Allison to glower at her unveiled insult as she walked over to Dennis and clasped a hand on his shoulder.

The young African American man in his mid twenties with an impressive afro looked up from his screens to her. "I know you're overqualified for this but I need the contact details of Lassiter and my predecessor Mrs Green." she told him. He looked at her with wide eyes for a moment before he gave nod.

"Ok." Dennis told her.

"And how's the deciphering of that noisy channel?" She asked him as she looked at his computer screen taking in that he too was trying to figure out how to clear the channel so they could contact their people in the field not just audio but with visual also.

"Still working on it." he told her, Samantha gave a nod as the people she had in Norfolk were just as stumped by it.

"What does Valerie Raymond have to say about it?" She asked him, she knew it was a long shot but she figured Dennis and Val had to be birds of feather

"Ma'am, she's not allowed in the courthouse or into the servers. So I wouldn't know." Dennis told her, Samantha leaned over his chair until her face was close to his and spoke in a low voice.

"She's probably already in our systems right now. Honestly I don't care as long as you both figure it out and when you do; you inform myself and Lassiter Industries first before anyone else ok?" She asked him in a low voice as she wasn't a spy but she didn't need the whole office knowing what was going on as the noisy channel was a security issue not something for Rivera and Shaw to get involved in.

"Yes, Ma'am." Dennis said with a nod.

"It's Colonel or Sir. I don't like being addressed as Ma'am." She told him straightening up.

"Yes M... Colonel." Dennis said faltering but correcting himself at the last moment. Samantha gave him a courteous smile and moved back over to the boards where the maps were currently plotting the Nathan James' movements. She folded her arms and looked to the board but was mentally preparing what she would say to win Kate and Anna over to her side. As well as what she'd say to Kara given she was basically stepping into the role that Kara had walked away. She had wonder if it was the petty politics of working with Alex and Allison that made her walk.

* * *

"Based on Captain Slattery's coded messages, the hostages are approximately here." Mejia said as he used a rule to mark on the map on the desk in CIC the coordinates Mike and the others gave them. "The Paracel Islands, Sir." Mejia said as he moved to stand back so Tom, Sasha, Lt Commander Burk and Alisha could see.

"Can't be more than a couple dozen big enough for a band of pirates to hide out, but that's still a lot." Sasha said to the group.

"And there are hundreds of miles between each one." Tom remarked as looked down at the map. Sure Mike and the others narrowed it down but it was still a lot of ground to cover.

"If we make for it at full power, we'll hit the first island in less than eight hours, Sir." Mejia said.

"We'll need to refuel first, otherwise we won't have enough to search an area that size." Lt Commander Burk said cutting off Alisha who had been about to say the exact same thing. Tom felt the tension between the two of them but didn't comment on it given he wasn't going to intercede until he had to.

"Pho Kong Island depot?" Tom asked Burk.

"Yes, Sir. We refueled there on our way in, and it's not too far out of our way." Lt Commander Burk told him.

"Set a course." Tom told them.

"Aye, sir." the three said, Tom left them and CIC heading to Mike's quarters to take a moment for himself and regroup. He was halfway down the hallway from CIC when he felt Sasha at his side.

"Tom, are you going to call Lassiter?" Sasha asked as she caught up with him and fell into step beside him.

"Why would I?" Tom asked her.

"Ah, access to satellite network, intelligence that's been gathered from their side of business. It's tapped into DOD, MCIA and NAVINTEL. The least you can do is tell her that we have a lead on her spouse." Sasha told him.

"How well do you know Kate?" Tom asked her as he walked them out onto a side balcony on the ship as he felt they needed some privacy for their conversation.

"I didn't have sex with her if that's what you're thinking." Sasha told him with a wry smile as she had noticed that it was becoming a habit for him to pull her into a more private setting where they couldn't be overheard. She wondered if it because he was afraid of her disrespecting him in front of his crew or that he thought she'd be more forward with information.

"Trust me, you and Kate having sex is not something I want to think about. Ever." Tom told her as it was the last thing on his mind when he asked the question. Sasha had to smile as she felt Tom was always so conservative that her sexual preferences tended to make him uncomfortable. She knew Darien was a complete prude so it only made Tom more Victorian in his views. She had to wonder if that had changed now Darien was gone.

"Well, even you could appreciate what a hot number she is." Sasha drawled as she couldn't help but enjoy watching her brother squirm as she knew how men talked about women.

"Please stop. You're my sister and she's pretty much like a sister to me. So-"

"Gross?" Sasha supplied in amusement. Tom gave nod even if it was a juvenile description for how he felt on the matter. He could appreciate that Kate was a beautiful woman physically but her personality was too rough around the edges for him and frankly she wasn't his type. So he tended not to see her the way that Mike and other men did.

"Yes, and anyway I'd prefer to limit our communications with home given we still don't know if our comms are compromised." Tom said trying to shift the conversation away from sex and Kate.

"Oh they are most definitely compromised but what choice do we have? We can't do this alone and you can't go rogue." Sasha told him.

"I know, but Kate's in a delicate state. I can't push her too much. Not right now with that video out there. She needs time to get her bearings." Tom told her, he couldn't help but feel Kate's plate was full and while he agreed she was an asset they could use. He only wanted to do so when they hit a wall as he didn't want to jeopardize her health.

"Delicate is not the word I'd use to describe a woman who killed men twice her size with her bare hands while off her face on benzos." Sasha commented wryly, 'Powerful' or 'strong' suited her more.

"Valkyrie Network?" Tom asked as to how she knew about that as Kate's internment in a Lab in Baltimore had been published on the Valkyrie network for the whole world to see and read about.

"Yeah, why do you think Peng has such a hard on for her. She's just as bloodthirsty as he is." Sasha told him with a wry smile.

"She's not really blood thirsty more pragmatic and scarily efficient when she wants to be." Tom said Sasha correcting her assumptions of Kate. It did reveal to him that Sasha didn't know Kate any better than Kate did which meant their relationship was purely professional.

"So what makes her 'delicate' now?" Sasha asked him. Tom looked at her for a moment wondering if he should tell her. It wasn't his news to share but then it would probably help to save them time and put the matter to rest.

"You can't tell anyone else." Tom told her.

"Who am I going to tell?" Sasha asked him incredulously. Tom gave a nod as he had to trust his little sister. She was an intelligence officer and when they were kids; she was never the one to tattle.

"She's pregnant. Not too far along and anaemic. Putting extra stress on her isn't going to be good for her or the baby." Tom said giving his reasoning as to why he didn't want to set a precedence of calling Kate every time they hit a brick wall. It put the stress on her that she was supposed to have all the answers and when she didn't-well then the pressure plied on heavier as it inferred that she had to find a solution.

"Is it yours?" Sasha asked him.

"No, why would you ask that?" Tom asked her incredulously but then he realized she was having a jest at his expense as she laughed at his outburst.

"Just to see your reaction which is priceless." She said with a chuckle before she grew sombre, "Does Mike know he's going to be a father again?" Sasha asked him, Tom shook his head.

"No, he also doesn't know about all the other things that had passed in the States since he's been deployed for the past three months either." Tom admitted to her.

"It's was all over the news even in China." Sasha said with a frown as she couldn't understand how Mike wouldn't have known.

"They operate at EMCON." Tom said and she gave a nod of understanding.

"And you didn't tell him?" Sasha asked him.

"He needed to stay focussed. There's nothing he could have done either way." Tom said not making excuses.

"That's bullshit. You could have gotten him stateside to sort his shit out." Sasha told him, she knew when the mission was vital to national security then of course the officer would be kept in the dark until the mission was complete. But distributing the cure wasn't that level of importance. Yes, it needed to be done but it didn't hinge on Mike being at the helm of the Nathan James.

"No, we don't operate like that." Tom told her and he knew that Mike would tear him a new one for pulling him away from his command as it would undermine him. Hell, it would probably ruin their friendship for a while when Mike found out but Tom knew no matter what the courts would have ruled in Christina's way as she had a unknown supporter that helped her win.

"Old world doesn't work like that. You could have changed that, we need to be more adaptive now than ever. Are you going to tell him when we find him?" Sasha asked, she knew she was being pushy but she couldn't help but feel pained about the situation as she'd been left in the dark about Paul's demise as her superior officers wanted her focused on the mission. She only found out he was dead when Valkyrie network posted lists of the known deceased.

"I-" Tom stopped as he wasn't sure. He wanted to but he didn't know if it would really help the man or make things worse. "It's not my place to tell him." Tom said lamely.

"Don't be that kind of friend. If it were me, I'd want to know everything." Sasha told him as she knew part of him not wanting to tell Mike as he felt like it was Kate's place to tell Mike she was pregnant.

"You cut yourself off from us all." Tom argued.

"Not all of you. I called Dad from time to time." Sasha confessed to him, she saw the hurt in Tom's features.

"You did? Did he know that you got married?" Tom asked wondering why their father didn't tell him though in fairness; Tom hadn't told him that he'd been looking for Sasha.

"No, I was planning to bring Paul home and introduce him to Dad in person but -well you know what happened. Then I couldn't reach any of you." Sasha said with a shrug as if it would lessen the grief she felt at losing Paul. At losing her chance to come home and make amends and try to be with her family again as he'd been the one to push her to go back to states. He felt family was important and that she needed to go back and see her family again to really decide if she wanted to be severed from them.

"You could have if you wanted to." Tom told her.

"Same goes for you." Sasha said frustrated at his words but then she took a deep breath. "Can we not keep beating that horse? Just move forward?" she asked him as she wanted to build the bridge between them not keep tearing one another apart.

"Yes," Tom said blowing out a breath as he felt the same frustration and pain as she did at their relationship.

"So, how are the kids?" Sasha asked him changing the topic.

"They are good, Ashley and Sammy are good. You'd barely recognise them." He joked, Sasha chuckled and nodded in agreement. "I also have newborn twins. Girls, Olivia and Evelyn." He added with a proud smile as he liked his brood of kids.

"You have photos?" Sasha asked him.

"Yeah," Tom said wondering why he hadn't thought of it earlier as he pulled out his wallet. He was still old school with carrying photos in his wallet. He pulled out a folded photo strip that he got from the photo booth that he had gotten into with Ashley, Sammy and his Dad at Kara and Danny's wedding. He had another strip of Rachel and himself but she had been adamant at the time that it just be the Chandler clan. But she did carry a copy of the same strip herself.

"Wow, look at them!" Sasha said as a smile spread across her lips as she held the photo strip in her hand looking at them. "Ashley and Sam are so big now. They are what? 11 and 8 now?" she asked as she pressed a hand to her mouth feeling herself become slightly overwhelmed as she felt a pang at missing their childhood and seeing her Dad. He looked a lot older than she remembered but in good spirits. It just made her ache as she missed him terribly.

"Yeah, Ashley's 12 this year. Going well in school. Sammy's more into comic books but I got him into soccer." Tom told her, Sasha's smile broadened as she shook her head at how much time had passed.

"Not like his father at all." Sasha teased, as Tom was all for sports and being an honour roll student.

"Yeah, and these are the twins." Tom said as he pulled out the folded photo he'd added. He was lucky that there was a place that still developed film. Sasha traded the photo strip for the photo.

"Awwh, they look so fresh and adorable." She said with chuckle as she looked at the photo it was of Dr Scott holding the twins in her arms as she was in a hospital bed still hooked up the IV drip and monitor. But it didn't dampen the happiness that radiated through the photo.

"Taken a couple days after they were born. That's their mother Rachel." Tom told Sasha, he couldn't help but chuckle as he'd only heard the twins referred to as 'fresh' by Kate and Anna. Obviously Jesse was rubbing off on her but it was pretty funny to refer to a newborn like they were produce. "They are nearly 6 weeks old, Rachel and I've been together for nearly 6 months." Tom told her.

"I heard rumours you hooked up Dr Scott and you're the father of the babies. All very scandalous." Sasha teased in a playful manner. He took the ribbing as he knew she was just messing with him not questioning his character. He didn't miss the yearning in her eyes that made him realise in losing her husband it had pushed back what dreams she had of having kids and a family of her own.

"They're mine just not the biological father." He didn't like saying it but he felt Sasha had a right to know given he assumed she wanted to come home and wold be hurt if he hadn't mentioned it. "It's still scandalous just in a different way to what people want to believe." Tom told her, Sasha waved a dismissive hand at him.

"Who cares. Are you happy?" she asked him as she handed the photo back to him.

"Yeah, I am." Tom said and he meant it. He knew he was incredibly lucky and wasn't taking it for granted.

* * *

"Lena, I needed that coffee!" Kate said as she'd just made the coffee only for Lena to snatch the cup away from her and dump the contents into the kitchen sink. She didn't know why but Kate felt like crying as there was no way to save the coffee that was halfway down the drown. Somewhere in her sleep deprived mind it made her feel completely upset as she couldn't help Mike and the others, she couldn't even save her coffee.

"This is healthier for you." Lena said as she poured out a fresh glass of green smoothie for Kate placing it into her hands with a smile. Kate looked down at the glass and it's contents not feeling very happy with the replacement. She knew Lena was right but she wanted the coffee more especially given she had laden it with cream, cocoa powder and enough sugar to make it like a morning delight than a bitter wake up call.

"Why is it you keep making me drink green things? Why can't I just drink tea or milk or juice that comes completely from fruit?" Kate asked Lena, she knew she was being petulant but she really wanted something to drink that wasn't water or the lovely green shade in front of her.

"This drink will boost your immune system and help with the anaemia. If it helps pretend you're feeding the baby." Lena suggested. Kate took a fortifying breath steeling herself as she really didn't want to drink it but she would because she did have to do better for her body and her baby. Caffeine and sugar at 5 am was probably not the best dietary choice.

She took a sip of the drink and looked to Lena who was watching like a mother would of a child taking their medicine. Her taste buds rioted against the taste and she felt the telltale pulse base of her throat that was the precursor to vomiting. She pushed past it and swallowed the mouthful of smoothie down; looking at Lena as she struggled to keep it down.

"Ergh, my body and baby have to disagree with you." Kate said in disgust; fighting her gag reflexes to keep down what she'd swallow as her body was revolting at the small sip of smoothie.

"Finish the glass." Lena said to her in a polite manner and a smile on her face as it wasn't the first time they'd done this song and dance but most times it was fun but right now Kate couldn't do it.

"Mhmm" Kate said shaking her head as she placed the glass on the bench and stepped away. "I'm asserting my adult card to refuse this drink and any future offerings. I'll find another way of consuming my greens." Kate told her, Lena couldn't help but smile as she took the glass away not offended at all as she figured Kate's nausea was more a combo of her being sleep deprived and pregnant.

"Your loss, my gain." Lena said before she drank some of the smoothie enjoying the taste of it as it was a morning routine for her.

"Uhuh, so how are we going to tell the girls about Mike?" Kate asked her as Lena had been watching the news on the living room TV while Kate had been making her coffee. So she was up to date on everything that was happening with Mike or as one could be thanks to the news. As Kate didn't have anything more to add except that she and Val had figured out that Mike and the others had been able to loosely discern their location to the Paracel Islands but it didn't help much given there were too many islands to narrow it down. At least from Kate's end. She knew Tom would start searching each island but it would be time consuming.

"We will be straightforward and honest. Try not to dumb it down too much but not too many detail that they have nightmares." Lena said with a shrug as they already argued about whether or not to tell them. Kate felt more and more that the girls should be shielded but then Lena made a valid point that the news would be playing non stop and the girls would be going to school so there was no way they wouldn't find out and thus it was better to tell them than let someone else tell them first.

"Yeah, you're going to do all the talking right?" Kate asked her.

"No, I'll be supporting you as you tell them." Lena told her as she felt it was better for Kate to do as she was a member of the family and in the role of 'mother' so it was her job.

"Am I really qualified for that?" Kate asked her.

"You know more about this stuff than I do. So I'd say so and the girls will have questions about how it will be handled and what's going to happen." Lena told her.

"Right."

"Kate, you're a mother to those girls and you're having a baby in the next few months. You need to take more of a handle on the role." Lena advised her.

"Ok." Kate said with a nod as Lena was right she couldn't fall back onto her to dish out all the bad news and at some point she had to assert herself in a more parental manner.

* * *

"Hey, you need a hand?" Wolf asked Jess as he came into the Helo bay to find her sitting in the cockpit of the Helo with a laptop in her lap; cursing at the console.

"Unless you know how to change the language settings on a Helo then you're no help to me." Jess told him as she tried to download the language patch into the Helo's systems so she could switch them to English. Not that she couldn't read Chinese, it's just that her skills of reading English were better. Given she had the time, she figured why not change the settings to English. Her comms system and radio were repaired so she now read as the Nathan James' Helo instead of the stolen Chinese Army helicopter.

"Ah, I don't think I can." he said as he jumped into the other side of the cockpit and settled in.

"Then don't you have guns to clean or Sasha to mess with?" Jess asked him.

"Nah, she and I aren't-"

"Fucking?" Jess asked bluntly. She knew she shouldn't feel jealous or territorial about Sasha after what happened between them. More importantly the fact that Sasha walked away from her but Jess still cared about her. She couldn't switch off her affections as easily as Sasha could.

"I was the rebound, nothing more." Wolf informed her in a casual manner like it didn't matter at all.

"Oh, so you're a Good Time Charlie?" Jess asked him wryly as she kept her eyes on her laptop.

"Yep, life is short and well I haven't met Miss Right. Found plenty of Miss Right Now's." He said, Jess looked at him and saw the man was smiling smug like it was something to be proud of which made her want to smack him.

"Life must be hard for you." Jesse drawled in a dry manner as she tried the patch once again and this time for some reason it stuck. She felt relief wash through her as she'd been ready to snap the laptop in half and throw it at Wolf because she felt like telling him Sasha was more than a notch in his bedpost.

"Not really, look can I be honest with you?" he asked.

"Sure." Jesse answered as she closed the laptop and turned off the Helo's console to reboot it. She wanted to make sure the language settings were permanent.

"I think I was the rebound for you not the husband and that she still deeply cares about you. Now, I'm just her friend and I'd like it if we could be friends without any bad blood between us." Wolf told her, Jess paused in turning the Helo on and looked to Wolf. She wondered why he felt it was important to him that they be friends but she had to admit part of his insights gave her hope as she wondered if she and her dangerous lifestyle had made her the rebound for Paul. She should squish that hope as Sasha and she were a mess and being where they were didn't make things easier.

"Sure. Why not?" She asked him.

"I don't know." He said with a shrug.

"At least I won't have to worry about you trying to get into my pants which by the way is a waste of time. I don't do dick." Jesse told him making herself perfectly clear.

"Crystal, you know Alisha's the same." Wolf offered, Jesse glowered at him.

"Yeah, when I want a wing man. I'll ask for one until then my love life is off limit unless you feel the desperate need to braid each other's hair and talk about chick. If you do, go find one of your boys." Jesse told him.

"Fair enough." Wolf said with a chuckle.


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and taking the time to read my fiction. Just a warning, I don't own anything and I acknowledge Law doesn't work like it does in my fictional world. So please let it roll and enjoy :)_

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

* * *

"Sir. UAV approaching Pho Kong station." Mejia told Tom when he entered the bridge and moved to his station.

"Very well." Tom said he moved to stand in front of the Captain's chair and looked up at the screen. Sasha moved to his side and looked up watching the live feed from the UAV. They could see the port coming slowly into view as the UAV flew towards it. It took a few minutes until Tom spotted the ships in Port. Four of them to be precise and Tom recognised the configuration of the ships even at the distance the UAV was at.

"Chinese." Tom said under his breath in annoyance. He pulled the phone receiver from the wall and dialled CIC, "Bridge, break off, break off. Get that UAV out of there. Increase speed. Get 10,000 feet and break off 90°." Tom ordered.

"That's what's left of their South Sea fleet. Four ships against one. Those are tough odds, even for you." Sasha remarked. Tom let the jibe roll off his back as he knew that she was just pointing out the odds not being in their favour. It also curbed his need to announce that they could take those odds as he knew what they others were thinking. They were fucked.

"We never broadcast our position. How did they know we were coming?" Mejia asked in disbelief.

"It was the smart play. This is the only refueling port within 1,000 miles." Tom answered he looked at the screen and cursed under his breath as he realised they were going to need Kate after all.

* * *

"Are we in trouble?" Zoe asked as Kate asked them to stay at the table even though they had just finished breakfast. Lena and Kate figured it'd be better for the girls to hear the bad news on a full stomach.

"No, but I have some bad news." Kate told them, she looked at them both filled with apprehension as she really didn't know how to break down the situation in a manner they would understand but not be scared.

"We have to go back to Mom's today?" Maddy asked as that was the only bad news she could think of. Kate shook her head.

"No, it's about your father." Kate took a beat "He's been captured by pirates and is being held as a prisoner." Kate told them. Zoe looked a little lost while Maddy understood completely.

"I don't understand. Pirates are cool! why wouldn't Daddy be a Pirate too?" Zoe asked to her with an unsure smile as she tried to reconcile what Kate was saying.

"These Pirates are very bad pirates and they won't let Daddy come home." Kate said simplifying it further.

"Why not?" Zoe asked her, Kate wished she had slept 8 solid hours as she felt she needed them with Zoe.

"Because they are really mean people and they want to get the President's attention. Best way they do that is keep Daddy and his friends from coming home." Kate explained to her. She really hoped Zoe got it this time as she feared simplifying it further would lose what she was trying to tell them.

"That's not nice." Zoe said in a matter of fact manner. Kate would have laughed if the situation was so serious.

"No, it isn't." Kate agreed, she looked to Maddy to see the girl was completely distraught by the news of her father. It was completely understandable.

"Is he going to be killed?" Maddy asked Kate who immediately shook her head.

"No, they've made demands and the President will do as they want to make sure Daddy comes home alive and in one piece." Kate told Maddy, she felt she just skirted a lie on that one as she shouldn't promise the girls anything but then even she needed the comfort that Michener would do as Takehaya asked. It wasn't a hard demand to fill. All he had to do was move a couple of ships. Kate felt it was the demands after that one that were going to be asking too much.

"But we don't negotiate with terrorists." Maddy pointed out to Kate.

"True, but they aren't terrorists. They are pirates." Kate said as she felt the distinction needed to be made clear. She could see Maddy drew some comfort from it.

"When will he come home?" Zoe asked Kate, the question that always threatened Kate's sense of calm as she just didn't have the right answer. She kind of wished Lena would step in but she was keeping to the background letting Kate handle it on her own.

"I don't know, Uncle Tom and the crew of the Nathan James are searching for him and the others as we speak." Kate answered.

"Is Daddy ok?" Maddy asked Kate.

"The Pirates sent a video of their demands. It shows your father-" Kate started but Maddy cut her off.

"Can we watch it?" Maddy asked, Kate looked to Lena who gave a nod of her head as they did agree on it together. They'd let the girls see part of the videos being played on the news but not all of it.

"Yes, but you should know he's looking pale and he's got some bruises on his face and he looks very angry. But otherwise he looks good." Kate told them.

They all rose from the table and moved to the lounge. Kate picked up the remote and sat on the arm of the lounge while the girls sat on the main part of the lounge. She waited for them to settle and pressed 'play'. She only half watched the video as she focused on the girls seeing their reactions. Zoe didn't seem to really understand the dangers of the situation but looked unsettled by how angry and injured Mike was. Maddy however was taking it very seriously, she had tears in her eyes and had sucked in her bottom lip trying to vainly trying not to cry.

Kate wanted to move from her spot and take the girl into a hug but she felt the need to keep her distance as she had to see how both of the girls were handling and go from there. But it didn't make any of it easy. She looked to the screen and saw it was changing to Diaz and Miller being punished and turned off the TV.

"There's more." Maddy pointed out as Kate held onto the remote and looked her.

"Yes, but it's not appropriate for Zoe and it doesn't involve your father. Any questions?" Kate asked them.

"He's really angry." Zoe said as she brought her knees to her chest and hugged her knees.

"Uhuh, it's a good thing." Kate told her as she moved to the couch and sat between them.

"Why?" Zoe asked confused.

"Cause it means he's angry at being held up from coming home to us. He wants to be home as much as we want him here." Kate told them, hoping it would fly with them as she had to give them a positive out of it.

"Oh, ok well maybe we should be angry too." Zoe said as her mind tried to find a logical solution. Kate smiled and slung an arm around her and shook her head.

"I'm not angry, I'm worried and a little scared but you guys are entitled to feel whatever you're feeling and if you want to talk about it more then we can." Kate told her, she pressed a kiss onto the top of Zoe's hair and wrapped Maddy up in her other arm and kissed the crown of her hair as well. Maddy didn't say anything at all which was the worst in Kate's mind as she didn't know what she was thinking. They sat in silence for a moment before Zoe spoke up.

"Can I play with Scout?" Zoe asked Kate.

"Sure," Kate said releasing her, Zoe hopped off the lounge and Scout who'd been at their feet chased after her as he seemed to be learning their personalities fairly well for a pup. Kate turned to Maddy. "You ok?" she asked, she knew it was a stupid question but it needed asking.

"He's not coming home." Maddy said in a small and sad voice. Kate carefully wrapped her other arm around Maddy pulling her into a hug. The girl buried her face into Kate's shoulder.

"He is coming home." Kate assured her in a low voice.

"You can't know that." Maddy argued.

"I know your father fairly well to know he'd move Heaven and Earth to come home to you and Zoe. He just needs Tom to help him. But I know it in my bones, he's coming home." Kate told her.

"Isn't there something you can do?" Maddy asked her lifting her head up and looked at Kate with desperation. Kate gave her a sad smile as she brushed Maddy's hair back behind her ear.

"I am doing what I can but there's not much I can do from this end except track the search efforts and wait for them to call for an assist. I'm also here for you and Zoe which is what your father would want." Kate told her.

"But you won't be with us tomorrow." Maddy argued as they'd be going back to Christina's. Kate wished she could tell Maddy about where Lena was going but didn't want to get her hopes up in case things didn't go Lena's way.

"I'm always a phone call and 5 minute drive from you. As for Zoe and her monster appetite. Nanna and I are going to back breakfast biscuits and snacks. So you're not cook anything and you both won't have to worry about being hungry. Also CPS are investigating what happened to you on Thursday. I want you to be completely honest with them. They represent your best interests, just like me they want you to be happy and in a healthy environment ok?" she asked her.

"Yeah." Maddy said in resignation. "Can I see Daddy on the TV again?" Maddy asked her.

"Sure, but a little later ok? I'm not ready to see it again so soon." Kate told her truthfully.

"Ok." Maddy replied.

"So what do you think of Scout?" Kate asked Maddy, changing the topic.

"He's ok." Maddy said in a dejected tone as she was mulling on her Dad being a hostage and hurt and then seeing Zoe acting like everything was normal. She could see Kate was worried about her and about Dad. So she decided maybe Kate needed them to not dwell on it..

"Just ok?" Kate asked her gently and amused way.

"He likes Zoe more than me." Maddy said to her, Kate felt a tug of sadness as she realised that Maddy was in need of bolstering as Christina had been playing favourites and Maddy felt like she was less loved because of it and a little resentful of Zoe.

"Nah, he loves everyone equally. He just hasn't spent enough time around you. Why don't you go on out there and play? Just make sure he doesn't get a grip on the bandages." Kate told her with an encouraging smile.

"Ok." Maddy said leaving the couch and heading into the backyard.

"Good job." Lena said as she sat down on the lounge next to Kate and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks, I think." Kate said as she wasn't sure she had done any good in telling the girls. "They are taking it too well." Kate added speaking her thoughts as she watched Maddy and Zoe play with the puppy in the backyard.

"They are processing, I'm sure later there will be tears and outbursts. We'll handle it as it comes." Lena told her.

"Ok." Kate said blowing out a shaky breath as she really wanted to curl up on the couch and have a good cry but she wasn't sure it was healthy for the girls to see that.

"I know it's hard but they needed to know. Now, I have to go shower, wash my hair and make myself presentable for court." Lena told her with a smile.

"I hope we win." Kate told her.

"We will." Lena said with confidence before she headed upstairs to get changed.

* * *

"Fuel's at 21%. Not enough to get us back to Okinawa." Cameron said as he stood in the wardroom with Tom, Danny and Sasha. He honestly wondered what Sasha was doing in the room but then remembered that she knew the region better than anyone else. He couldn't help but wonder if she was a relation to Tom as the two had similar features and personality traits but it wasn't relevant.

"Well, even if we got to Japan, we'd have no backup, and Peng is getting exactly what he wants. All of our ships are out of the region." Danny said as he looked down at the map.

"I'm not so sure that Peng's behind the kidnapping." Sasha said to them.

"He's got four warships that are blocking our only hopes of finding them." Danny argued as they'd been brainstorming the situation but Danny had to admit he was finding it hard to find ties between the Pirates and Peng. But there were too many coincidences that didn't add up.

"Oh, I'm not saying that he doesn't want us dead, but Peng and the pirates make strange bedfellows. Maybe they have different agendas." Sasha said assuring Danny that she wasn't dismissing his assumptions but she knew Peng. They most likely pissed him off and that's why he wanted them dead. As for the pirates, she had no clue what they were getting out of it all. She just knew Takehaya hated Peng and the feelings were mutual.

"Didn't Peng call the President to pledge his full support in rescuing our crew? Why don't we ask POTUS to demand he clear the blockage? Force his hand and then see where he stands." Cameron suggested.

"And then Peng says yes and then during the refueling, the James accidentally goes up in flames and he pins it on the pirates again." Danny said.

"Agreed. The President shouldn't ask Peng for the fuel. We should." Tom said speaking for the first time as he had been formulating an idea in his head while the others spoke and he finally knew what he wanted to do.

"We call him ourselves?" Cameron asked confused.

"No, that'll just give his warships our location. Jesse'll fly us into Hong Kong. We can be inside his mansion in just under two hours." Tom told them which game him at least a few hours to get his plan together before 10pm hit as he wanted to be at the mansion at midnight.

"Well, we will certainly have a lot to discuss." Sasha said as she was surprised how outside of the box Tom was thinking as this wasn't normal tactics the Military would employ.

"Sorry, Sir. Are we talking about what we're talking about?" Danny asked him.

"We're gonna break into the headquarters of the Chinese President." Tom said confirming his idea to Danny and the others. He watched as Cameron and Danny looked surprised a little reticent at the idea. Sasha looked interested but he had a feeling she just wanted to know the whole plan first and frankly he had a feeling this wasn't her first barbecue of this nature.

"What are we looking at in terms of security?" Danny asked Sasha.

"Uh" Sasha gave a sigh as she pulled the information from her memory, "Dozens of armed guards posted inside and out. Each room and hallway requires key card access, also CCTV security." Sasha told him.

"We'll have to contact Val, she can hack into Peng's security system get us the codes." Tom said getting rid of that issue.

"Sir, our communication systems are compromised with that noisy channel. Also she's half a world away." Danny argued.

"It's Val, she's probably already done it for sake of ego." Tom told him. "Anyway, Kate gave me a number to call. It's an encrypted channel. Val gets us the codes. So when we were at the mansion. We can own the cameras and doors. That'll get us inside." Tom said.

"CIC can keep eyes on you from the sky." Cameron offered.

"That still leaves the guards. Not sure how many we can drop before alerting the rest of 'em." Danny said.

"We do this right, nobody gets killed. I'm not giving Peng an excuse to start an all-out war." Tom told them. He looked to Danny "Inform Jesse, and gather Wolf and Cruz. I'll have a plan with in two hours." He told Danny. The man nodded and with that Danny and Cameron left the room.

Tom looked to Sasha. "I need you help." he told her, she gave an an amused closed lip smile.

"Really? sounds like you got it all planned." Sasha said to him, but actually a little humble that he was asking for her help.

"You know, the mansion the best and let's be honest. You've done more of these types of missions than me. I need your experience and knowledge." He said as it wasn't beneath him to ask for help.

"Well, it's one thing to go hunting for pirates, but pulling Peng out of his bed in the middle of the night... That I can help you do but how are you going to get the President to sign off on this?" Sasha asked him.

"Let's get a plan in place and go from there." Tom told her.

"Ok." Sasha told him.

* * *

"Ok, take your seats." Judge Horner told them all. It was a closed court session with just the judge, the court transcriber, the lawyers Mr Terrence who was representing Christina. The man was a slime ball as he middle age, athletic man who was dressed in a sharp suit with his black hair oiled back. He sat next to Christina looking rather perturbed about being in court on a Sunday.

Mr Boylan a man in his late 50's incredibly fit himself with full head of white hair and well groomed beard. He used to serve in the Military before retiring to practise Law privately. Secretly Lena had a crush on the man as he was very dapper in his suit and he knew what he was doing and was a gifted lawyer. Not to mention he had a voice that could melt butter.

Judge Horner was a wiry old man with wild grey hair who was swamped in his judges robes. Not that it bothered Lena as she had a good feeling that he was fair. He didn't seemed to have a bias from the get go like Judge Astor had. So it gave Lena hope.

Christina's long brown hair was quaffed into a french roll as she wore a suit that was one size too small for her figure. She looked annoyed and entitled as she lifted her chin in a defiant manner at Lena. Lena of course ignored her as she wore a grey pant suit tailored to her frame that had black accents to it. She did her wavy grey hair into a updo and felt every inch the modern woman. Something she knew impressed Judge Horner as the man gave her the once over and didn't sneer like Judge Astor had.

"So, we've all signed and agreed to a gag order on the proceedings which means you cannot tell anyone outside this court about why we're here or what will happen to the Media. I will not tolerate a media circus as I for one am sick of reading the name 'Slattery' in the news in relation to the scandal of child custody and bigamy. So if I see one of you talking to the media. You will be held in contempt and faces charges. Have I made myself clear?" Judge Horner told them.

"Crystal. Your Honor." Mr Boylan said.

"Yes, we understand." Mr Terrence answered.

"Good, let's get started." Judge Horner said as he looked down at the thick file that Mr Boylan had provided his office with on Friday.

"Judge Horner, I'd like to push-" Mr Terrence started but Judge Horner silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"Don't Mr Terrence, ever since Judge Astor was caught taking bribes under the table I've had docket filled with his cases. Every decision has to be ruled over again. I was told of this petition for full custody and felt we may as well get this over with." Judge Horner said in a hurried manner as he wanted to get today's meeting out of the way as soon as possible given how much work he had ahead of him thanks to Judge Astor. It was bad enough he was up before 10am on a Sunday.

"Your Honor, I appreciated Judge Astor's judgement 3 months ago when it was Ms Lassiter applying for custody but today it is Mrs Slattery Senior petitioning the courts for full custody of Zoe and Madison Slattery." Mr Boylan said to the judge.

"Ok, you should know that it's going to be a real uphill battle for you Mr Boylan. I looked over the previous case and I agree with the judgement that Mrs Slattery Senior be allowed joint custody but since you're petitioning for full custody and in light of Judge Astor's indiscretions; I'd like to hear your argument." Judge Horner said as he sat back in his chair and looked to the man.

"I understand which is why I handed in my paperwork and witness list in advance as soon as I had notice of this appointment. I'm completely prepared to go to trial immediately." Mr Boylan told him as he gestured to the thick folder in front of the judge.

"I see you've been thorough but I've only had a day to go over it all. So just give me the highlights of what you feel are the main points of focus." Judge Horner said as he read the file but he liked to pretend he wasn't well read to test the Lawyers on how well they knew their cases and see how far they'd bend the truth to win. But he was already impressed with Mr Boylan's work as it was immaculate and concise.

"My client believes that the mother of her grandchildren is neglecting them. Something we intend to prove. But CPS is currently investigating the allegations due to Madison Slattery being admitted to hospital last week with serious burns to her extremities." Mr Boylan said to Judge Horner.

"Ok, so their investigation is not in the file yet?" Judge Horner asked Mr Boylan.

"Only the preliminary findings as I said before CPS is investigating but I'm sure CPS would be ready for the trial given how efficient they are. We do have other evidence with us today." Mr Boylan said laying the compliments on thick as CPS was overloaded which was nothing new even in the post pandemic world but he felt it was better to compliment than complain.

"Let's try and settle the current allegation of neglect for my curiosity here and now. Mrs Slattery explain what happened last week?" Judge Horner asked looking to Christina.

"The kids were asleep and we were out of Milk. I only left to go to the grocery store. I didn't think they'd wake up and try to cook themselves breakfast. Something I strictly forbid them." Christina said to him in a very serious manner.

"Why didn't you ask your neighbours for Milk?" Judge Horner asked her.

"They aren't friendly. I was only gone for 20 minutes. Honestly, I'm a single parent with two rambunctious children. I'm doing my best with what little I have." Christina told him, Judge Horner opened the file on his desk and frowned as Mr Boylan had supplied the figure of how much Captain Slattery's monthly pay and past overheads for the property that Mrs Slattery and the children currently resided in. It was unusual but the figure and statements were from when Lassiter had been married to the man. So they wouldn't have changed and it also stated that Captain Slattery was self sacrificing 30% of his monthly pay into super and for childcare vouchers. But even so he could tell it was enough money for three dependants to live on in a more than comfortable manner.

"To be honest, I'd need more details what is draining your funds?" Judge Horner asked her.

"Well, the girls are always wanting the best and Maddy has an expensive after school which I had to remove her from because we can't afford it which left her devastated but I'm not Ms Lassiter." Christina told him.

"Your Honor, if I may clarify?" Mr Boylan asked.

"Sure." Judge Horner said but he already knew the answer but he felt it was fair to let this play out as the more time he spent in the room with Lena and Christina the better a feel he got for them as he didn't subscribe to biology making better guardians for children.

"The after school Mrs Slattery is speaking of is actually paid by Ms Lassiter through a scholarship program. So there's no out of pocket as Madison Slattery earned her place on merit of her intelligence and dedication to her studies. It's in the file along with Madison Slattery's school performance from her school and the after school program" Mr Boylan said, the man stated in the file what page number it was and the appendices for it. Judge Horner liked that the lawyer was ready to go to trial while Terrance seemed to think charm would win him.

"Ok, Mrs Slattery, could you care to tell me why it took you so many months to track down your wayward husband and children?" Judge Horner asked changing topics to see how well Christina was prepped.

"You've seen the world. I was stuck in Baltimore with no transport, no Military base to liaise with to contact my husband." Christina told him.

"Yet you made it all the way to St Louis when Norfolk was closer." Horner argued as he felt like he was about to be lead on a merry chase for the truth. He didn't like liars or cheats and thus wouldn't tolerate handing custody over to one.

"Your Honor, she was well within her rights to reclaim her marriage. Kids have accidents all the time, it doesn't make my client a bad parent. The fact is that her priority was getting to her children first. But her husband signed custody to Ms Lassiter. It was a mess but what does it matter how long it took? She came as quickly as she could and she's here now." Mr Terrance told the Judge trying to redirect him back to the case at hand and make the Judge remember that biological mothers were a better candidate as he was being paid by an outside party to represent Christina Slattery.

"It's questionable at best if she was well within her rights. But given we have no way of contacting Captain Slattery, we should focus on the children for now and not the mess of marital affairs that this case is rife with." Judge Horner said in a dismissive manner as he was glad Kate Lassiter wasn't in his offices trying to get her marriage to Captain Slattery back. The custody battle was enough for him as it was a mess given the children's custody was a mess as it wasn't the first time on record that Christina had abandoned her children.

"Your Honor, the children's paternal grandmother resides in Norfolk and as we know has a drug habit. If you give her full custody my client won't ever see her children as she can't afford the commute to Norfolk. Not to mention her habit makes her an unsuitable guardian." Mr Terrance argued looking to Boylan in annoyance as he hated how solid Boylan's case was at the moment given Christina was a terrible liar as she lived off her husband's pay check which was more than most people had.

"My client actually resides in St Louis, she has a drivers licence for this state and owns property in both Missouri and Virgina. As for her 'habit' it was infrequent usage and recreational. 'Was' being the operative word as she's been sober for over 3 months now, has habitually taken drug tests to prove she is clean. She's joined a group and has a sponsor here in St Louis, she used commute to Norfolk once a week but she also attended group there. She's proven that she can change and those changes are permanent. I've supplied the courts with those affidavits, I've also supplied her financial records to prove her solvency." Mr Boylan stated in a calm manner not even ruffled by Mr Terrence and his arguments.

"Thorough, what of these commutes Mrs Slattery Senior. Will you be dragging the children back and forth?" Judge Horner asked looking to Lena; wanting to hear from her.

"No your Honor, now that I have membership to Valkyrie Network I'm able to video call; I can work from my home while the girls are at school. I have no desire to uproot them or disrupt their education." Lena told him, keeping her answers clear and concise as Mr Boylan told her to.

"And what of Ms Lassiter? I assume she's living in your home?" Judge Horner asked with a sigh as that woman was a major problem for the case given her history. He would have liked to talk to her but he'd save it for the trial.

"She's a boarder in my home. Yes." Lena answered in a frank manner.

"She has also been attending group for veteran soldiers and private counselling sessions for the past three months. The same psychologist that deemed her unfit has cleared her to be a functioning member of society and a threat to no one. Affidavi-" Mr Boylan started but Judge Horner cut him off.

"In the file, I get the picture forming here." Judge Horner replied. He could see Mr Boylan and his client had worked hard to make sure their case was solid knowing it was an uphill battle given what happened the last time. But Judge Horner appreciated the effort, he could tell Lena was just as calm and well put together as her lawyer. It did speak to him as he didn't like the idea of disrupting the Slattery children's lives anymore than they already were.

"Sir, just because they attended a few group sessions an Mrs Lassiter paid Mrs Slattery enough money to support herself doesn't change the fact that the girls are better off with their biological mother." Mr Terrence argued.

"Your Honor, you'll find on page 30, Mrs Slattery senior's financial records. We're not hiding anything." Mr Boylan said, Judge Horner flicked the page and found his eyebrows rise as he was amazed at the level of transparency Lena was giving as there where bank statements and letters from her financial adviser and bank manager. It was near overkill for a custody case.

"Mrs Lassiter only pays $300 a week in board, it's hardly enough to support two growing children. It seems though you, Mrs Slattery have been investing your money wisely for the past few months. None of them are Lassiter Industries holdings." Horner commented as he looked to Lena rather impressed with how well put together she was and he'd just to hear one complaint from her while Christina couldn't give him a straight answer and his lawyer was arguing biology was more important than a stable home environment.

"The dividends are more than enough and I paid a financial adviser to help me as I wanted to be a self funded retiree. My work is purely more for love than money. My adviser's very good at his job. If I may say something?" Lena asked the Judge with a kind smile.

"Sure," Judge Horner said as he looked up from file to Lena. He clasped his hands and leaned on the desk and looked to her; giving her his attention.

"I don't want to cut Christina out of the girls' lives but I feel I'm in a better position to give them the supervision, care and stability that Christina is struggling to give them. She's welcome to come visit with the girls but I'd prefer it be court mandated. Preferably supervised and at a designated time as the girls need structure back in their lives. Something that is sorely lacking since the upset of their mother's abrupt return and father's deployment has done to their lives." Lena said eloquently but her words struck a chord with Christina as she grew red in the face.

"I was stuck in Baltimore where Mike abandoned me to be with that rich whore-" Christina started to rant bitterly but Judge Horner cut her off with a cold look.

"Mrs Slattery, language." Horner chastised as Terrence looked to Christine telling her to be quiet in a low tone. But it was pretty clear that Christina had banked on another judge like Astor.

"Your Honor, I apologise but it just boils my blood how everyone thinks she's a saint because she's rich and buy everyone's favour." Christina said in a sweetly.

"We're here discussing you and your husband's Mother in regards to who should be taking care of the children full time. Not Mrs Lassiter as she has nothing to do with these proceedings. You say you're struggling, why didn't you ask for help from Mrs Slattery senior?" Judge Horner asked gesturing to Lena feeling it was a fair question. "It seems she's uprooted her own life to be here for the children when she only has them for the weekend." he added.

"Like she'd help me, she hates me." Christina told him, Judge Horner looked to Lena who was rather calm about it.

"I won't lie. There's no love between Christina and myself but I love my grandchildren. I'd do anything for them and I know of at least 7 people whom my son knows and trusts that would drop whatever they were doing to help Christina and they all live within a block of her house. They may hate the situation but they'd never be so spiteful towards my grandchildren. Never." Lena told him in a plain manner that he took her words at face value.

"Please your Honor, these are my kids and yes I struggle but what parent doesn't? I'm married but my husband is always away. I'm a single mother, I lost my son. My husband is a prisoner of war and my kids are all I have. They need me and I them." Christina argued, tears filled her eyes and Judge Horner looked at her with sympathy. But he'd seen women cry for their kids and he was sadly immune to it as everyone had a sad story. It didn't mean they were the best person to look after their child.

"I don't want this to dissolve into hysterics. Mr Boylan, you said you have proof of neglect. Let's see it besides what happened this past Thursday." Judge Horner said to Lena's Lawyer. The man nodded as he opened his brief case and pulled out a manilla folder.

"Yes, we hired a court approved investigator and he followed Mrs Slattery for the last two months when my client noticed changes in the children's dispositions. He never engaged with Mrs Slattery but it's fairly clear from his reports what she has been up to." Mr Boylan said, Judge Horner motioned for him to hand the file over. Mr Boylan walked up to the Judge's desk.

"I see," Judge Horner said as he took the file and opened it. He skimmed through the reports. He knew the investigator's work and knew him to be good at his job and unbiased. He lifted the file up so it was obscured from the view of Mr Terrence and the others in the room. He flicked through the pages and saw the photos and gave a sigh as the decision was made in his mind. He closed the file. "I don't usually approve of such underhanded tactics but given what I'm reading and the fact CPS is involved. I'm granting Mrs Slattery Senior temporary custody of the children until CPS give me their final findings. Then we'll set a court date where will discuss the matter further then." Judge Horner told them.

"Judge-" Mr Terrence started but Judge Horner cut him off.

"Mr Terrence, you'll get your say later. For now, Mrs Slattery Senior the children are yours until further notice. I am also going to have CPS check in on you randomly in the name of due diligence." Judge Horner told her, Lena looked at him and gave a nod a small smile of relief on her face at the decision.

"Of course your Honor. My Client is more than happy to host CPS at their discretion. Thank you." Mr Boylan said to him. Judge Horner looked to Christina who was fuming not exactly the reaction he was expecting but then it didn't matter as she dug her own grave on the matter.

"Mr Terrence, you and you client have some time to smarten up and prepare for trial. My clerk will inform you of the date." Judge Horner said, he smacked his gavel on the table calling the court proceedings to an end.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

* * *

Val sat in Kate's study with an air gap laptop computer she'd purchased that morning. She was watching it chew through Peng's message. It was a virus, it seemed Peng had expected them to open it up on their servers. But right now Val was trying to figure out what kind of virus it was as it was unlike anything she had seen before. It was definitely a work of art, it was such a shame she couldn't see it in action as she had a feeling it was supposed to do more than just crash their servers.

She typed in code breaking the virus down to it's guts and smiled as there was information about the crash and the comms from the plane to the tower. It seemed the program activated when one clicked on the information. It send out it's little tethers.

"This is a thing of beauty." Val said as the door to study open, she looked up expecting to see Kate and saw Maddy. Her eyes went wide as she didn't know what to do or say as the kid walked in and looked around the room. Val clicked off the TV as the news had been running on mute. "You're not Kate." Val told her.

"Kate's sick in the bathroom." Maddy informed her.

"Like vomiting sick?" Val asked making a face.

"Yeah," Maddy said, Val decided she was leaving that one alone as she was no good with vomit even when it was her own.

"Where's Ravit?" Val asked her, as the woman was like an inbuilt babysitter for all the kids that the Nathan James people had.

"With Zoe. Are you all trying to find my Dad?" Maddy asked her. Val tried to think of a lie but nothing came to her.

"Yeah, but there's only so much we can do. It's really up to Tom and the Nathan James as they are in the area. Unless we could get a phone to the pirate." Val told her with a shrug.

"Why can't you do that?" Maddy asked her innocently.

"Cause we-that's a good point." Val said thoughtfully as she had to have contacts somewhere in the world could help. Maybe. It was definitely worth looking into. "We haven't gotten there yet. It's all really complicated to the point that I don't know much but everyone's doing their best to get everyone back safe and sound. You want to see something cool?" she asked Maddy, changing the topic.

"Ok." Maddy said, Val could tell the kid wasn't going to leave and realised if Kate wasn't available then she could at least educate Maddy than wait for an audience.

"Come over here." Val said, she got out of her chair and sat down on the floor with her air gap computer. She gestured for Maddy to join her. Maddy sat down next to her. "See this gibberish?" she asked gesturing to the laptop screen.

"Yeah." Maddy said.

"This is a virus, it's thing of beauty. The transmission we got from this bad guy, I opened the message and now it's silently taken over the laptop, so when the bad guy wanted access he'd just tap in a passcode and boom. Everything on this laptop is his. If it we'd been stupid to not use an air gap computer well my communications system. Kate's company's infrastructure like electricity for example. All be his but we're safe." Val told her.

"How do you know that?" Maddy asked her.

"I can read this. It's called 'code'. All of our computers and the programs we use is written in it." Val told her as she pointed to the screen.

"Like a language." Maddy stated. Val smiled and nodded.

"Exactly. You want to learn? It's fun." Val told her.

"I used to learn Japanese and Chinese but my Mom forbid me from learning it. I don't think she'd like me learning code." Maddy said in a dejected manner, Val pursed her lips and nodded in understanding.

"I had a mom like that. She told me I couldn't be a ballerina as I was too short and it was a waste of my intelligence. It's sucks but I still learnt how to be a ballerina. I won a scholarship to Ballet school too." Val told her in a low voice.

"Really?" Maddy asked as she couldn't imagine Val being a ballerina. she was wondering if Val was lying to her but then the woman seemed to be honest all the time.

"Yeah but don't tell anyone ok? They would make fun of me and anyway I got expelled from the school." Val said with a shrug.

"Why?" Maddy asked out of curiosity.

"Well, when you're really smart like you and me? we need to keep learning and broadening our horizons otherwise we get bored and do stupid things that get us into trouble. So I think if you asked Kate, she'd let you study on the weekends if it's something you want to do. But seriously, learn code. Technology is the always evolving but coding is the foundation for it all. The future needs people like you and me. We keep it all going." Val told her as she nudged her playfully with her shoulder.

* * *

Rachel pressed her head against the closed door to her and Tom's bedroom as Olivia and Evie were once again in a crying jag that she couldn't handle. The babies were clean, changed and fed; they had no temperature; no signs of illness but they just were crying. She felt like a bad parent but she'd reached her limit where she just had to walk away. She hated that she had to but Kara told her that it was better to take a time out for yourself than keep stressing out because as long as the baby was crying it was still breathing.

Tears slid down her face as she really wished Tom was home. He'd know what to do. Jed and the kids had already gone out to go shopping; so Rachel was on her own. Not true she could call someone but she didn't know who to call.

"What's wrong with them?"

Rachel turned to see Sammy standing in the hallway, she cleared her throat and plastered a smile on her face as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I don't know, they are just crying and I don't have your father's skills to calm them." Rachel told him with a humourless laugh.

"They miss him too." Sammy said it was more of a statement than a question.

"We all do, I guess you can say you and the twins are the only ones angry enough to show it." Rachel said to him. The 8 year old gave a half shrug as he wasn't going to argue with her assessment. Jed and she told Ashley and Sammy that their father wasn't coming home on Friday night and well. It hadn't been well received at all but when the news of Mike and the others came on. They understood as they saw what Tom was up against. "Why aren't you with Ashley and Grandpa?" she asked as she though he was gone with them.

"Didn't want to go." Sammy told her.

"I'm sorry, Tom missed your soccer game but Grandpa filmed it for him. So he'll still get to see how well you played." Rachel offered trying to salve the sore issue between Tom and Sammy which was him missing out on Sammy's games. The two practised so much together for fun and father son bonding time.

"Yeah but it's not the same. We practised together all the time and this was the semi final." Sammy said in a dejected tone.

"He might be back for the finals." Rachel offered, she hoped Tom came home soon as she missed having him around. Not just for helping her with the twins but for herself. She knew his job meant he had to go away sometimes but she had figured she'd get a week's notice at least to mentally prepare herself for his absence.

"I doubt it." Sammy told her.

"You know your father doesn't practice with you to see you kick a few goals at one game. He just wants to spend time with you. So he knows how good of a player you are and is proud of you no matter what but I know you still want him there to see you play." Rachel told him.

"Yeah I guess so." Sammy replied.

"Well, I'll be there for the next game if that means anything and I know Tex can kick a ball. I'm sure he'd be happy to step in and help you while your father is away." Rachel offered.

"Tex talks too much." Sammy said making a face, Rachel smiled as Tex had come over one time to see the twins with Anna and Kat when they first got home. He and Kat joined Tom and Sammy in an impromptu game that Tex played but also commentated on the game like it were real one. The game was a tie in the end.

"True. I'd offer but I'm complete rubbish at soccer." Rachel told him and she had another 3 weeks before she could start exercising. So she was no help whatsoever.

"Mom was bad at it too. I heard you talking last night on the phone. Mom wasn't perfect." Sammy told her, it pained him to talk about his Mom and he knew he was a pain in everyone's butt. He couldn't help but be angry at the world around him. He wanted his mother alive and for her and Dad to be together.

But then he was angry at his Mom because it was her fault she got sick and died. Grandpa had told her not to hike so far away and she always didn't do what Grandpa told her and then she got sick because of it and abandoned him and his sister. Now his Dad had abandoned them to do his 'job', something he didn't like it as he felt he finally had his Dad back and now he was gone and Sammy was the only kid on the soccer team who's Dad missed out on the games and wasn't around all the time.

"Oh, Sammy. I was blowing steam off. I didn't mean to insult your mother." Rachel said.

"You didn't, but Mom messed up a lot of stuff too. She got upset over stupid things like TV commercials, she didn't understand comics and got sick and died." Sammy told her in a flat tone.

"That wasn't her fault." Rachel said to him.

"Yes, it is. She shouldn't have hiked so far away from the cabin. If she hadn't gone so far then she wouldn't have gotten sick, she wouldn't have made us all sick and she'd still be alive." Sammy argued bitterly, he gave a huff as he blinked back tears and looked to the door. "You going to let them cry forever?" he asked her changing the topic.

"No, but I could use some help. If you could help me, I'd really appreciate it." Rachel said to him as the babies were crying in concert of one another.

"I'm not changing any diapers." Sammy told her, Rachel gave a closed lip smile and nodded.

"Ok," She opened the door to the bedroom and gestured for Sammy to sit on the bed on Tom's side as her's was a mess of paper and her work on the virus. She should clean it up but was so sleep deprived she couldn't be bothered.

"What's all this?" Sammy asked.

"My work on the virus. The twins haven't slept well since your father left so they tend to sleep when they should be awake and well I need to pass the time." Rachel answered over the crying. She picked up Evie who quietened down for a moment in Rachel's arms. The baby just wanted to be held all the time like Olivia but Rachel could only hold them one at time to keep them satisfied. She moved to Sammy "So all she needs is to be held." she told him.

"Ok. She's not going vomit or poop on me?" Sammy asked as Rachel passed the baby into his arms.

"No, she's already done all of that." Rachel assured him, she wasn't going to tell him that babies were unpredictable. "Just support her head and neck. Perfect." she said gently advising him as he adjusted his hold on her. He unlike Ashley didn't look like he was a fan of Evie but he still held her in his arms. But Evie liked him as she went completely quiet and calm in his arms. She had to surmise that all the Chandlers were blessed when it came to soothing babies. That she was definitely envious of as she picked up a screaming Olivia.

Olivia quietened for a few seconds to catch her breath against Rachel's shoulder. She gently patted Olivia's back as she rocked on her feet. She looked to Sammy who was looking at Evie more closely taking in her features.

"They stopped crying." Sammy surmised as he looked down at Evie's red face. The baby looked calm now as the blood was slowly fading from her cheeks as she gave huffy little breaths and looked at him with a weird look. He felt like telling the Baby that he thought she was weird too; so the feeling was mutual.

"Yes, now if only we can get them to sleep." Rachel said she felt it was wishful thinking. Olivia made noises of displeasure, so Rachel moved Olivia into her arms so she was being cradled. "But you and your sister just want to test my limits until Daddy comes home." Rachel told her daughter.

"I'm sorry." Sammy told her, as he could see Rachel was doing her best and was exhausted. She missed his father as much as he did and his attitude hadn't helped. He'd been so messed up with his grief over his Mom that he'd forgotten that the others were in the same boat as him. He looked at Evie and figured she was weird but at least she was quiet around him so far which meant she didn't hate him. That was kind of cool which meant he could help instead of being relegated as the 'kid' who couldn't do anything because he was too young but then Rachel never spoke to him like he was a kid.

"I appreciate it but I'm not sure what you're apologising for." Rachel told him as his apology came out of the blue and she wondered what made him say it.

"For being a kid." Sammy said with a shrug.

"We're all going through hard times. I think you're allowed to be a kid. Just maybe curb the temper." Rachel said, her laptop made a beeping noise indicating a new message had come onto the servers.

"What's that for?" Sam asked her.

"There's been new findings in the Lab in Japan." Rachel told him.

"Are you going to look at it?" Sam asked, Rachel shook her head as right now she'd finally found some ground with Sammy. She wasn't going to give it up now she had it.

"No, it can wait. The people I'm working with are just as intelligent as me. I'd rather talk about anything other than the twins and the virus." Rachel told him, they lapsed into silence for a long moment before Sammy spoke up.

"Do you like comics?" Sam asked her.

"I've never had the time. Perhaps you could tell me which one I should try first." Rachel suggested.

* * *

Tom dialled the number Kate gave him and listened as the phone rang. He looked to Granderson who gave him the thumbs up confirming that the signal was not giving away their position. Something that was a relief given they didn't want to tip off their location to Chinese fleet of Li-Wu Destroyers.

" _Hello?_ " Val's voice came over the line.

"Val?" Tom asked just for clarification as he hadn't heard her voice in a while on the phone.

" _Captain?_ " Val asked in surprise.

"Yes." Tom said though he was tempted say 'No, it's Santa Claus' to see what she'd say but decided against it. "Where's Kate?" he asked as he had been expecting Kate to pick up the phone not Val it made him worry about what had her tied up but then he reminded himself that.

" _She was vomiting then she went to bed. So she's unavailable. Do you need her?_ " Val offered.

"No, actually it's you I needed." Tom told her, as he figured the pregnancy was kicking in for Kate. Something that amused him a little given she tended not get waylaid by much.

" _Awwh, it's such a shame I don't have father issues to work out._ " Val drawled in good humour.

"Please focus," Tom told her as he didn't want to waste time and because he saw Granderson's lips quirk into a faint smile at the joke.

" _Focussing_." Val told him.

"I need codes to get into Peng's security system." Tom told her, he was pushing it for time as he wanted to leave at 10pm to get to Peng's Mansion at midnight.

" _Oh easy, already got them. I'll text you it. Anything else?_ " She asked. Tom blinked as he had kind of expected her to be on top of it but it was still a surprise.

"I don't have a mobile on me." He told her, he'd left it at home because it was a waste of time carrying it.

" _I'll text Lt Granderson with the information in a zip file. You'll have to use your Valkyrie network key code to activate it. Is there anything else?_ " she asked him.

"Yeah, we're narrowed down the search-" Tom started but Val cut him off.

" _To Paracel Islands. Yeah we caught the slip up in the serial numbers. Listen I'm going to re-task some satellites over that way so the next time they try to sent a sky wave we might be able to narrow down the area a little more. But otherwise there's nothing you need to know. Oh except Kara walked from her job and Colonel Samantha Nash took over._ " Val told him, Tom found that information interesting as he couldn't imagine Kara quitting anything. It only made him wonder what was happening at the White House in St Louis.

"Is Kara ok?" Tom asked her, he would have liked to know why but it was important at the moment. If she'd been fired then he'd want answers.

" _Yeah, she's fine. A little shell shocked but otherwise ok. You're girlfriend's in top form. She seems to have a theory about the virus mutation not being natural occurrence but she's waiting for more results from the labs in Japan. I've linked you into the network for that so you can be informed if you can understand what those guys are talking about. Also the Japanese Government doesn't know who Takehaya is but I have access to their database and running facial rec. but it'll take a while given there are a lot of Japanese guys who fit his physical descriptors who are in their national database. But it's only military and criminals I'm searching._ " Val informed him.

"Ok, but how will that help us?" Tom asked her as he couldn't see how sussing out Takehaya's identity would help them past learning part of the reason he was doing what he was.

" _I don't know but Kate feels it's important."_ Val said, Tom could imagin her shrugging her shoulders like she didn't care as she was following orders. _"And Peng tried to take over Lassiter Industries Servers and my systems with a virus I'm dubbing 'the puppeteer'. So make sure you keep an eye on your operating systems and don't open any transmissions with attachments unless I told you I sent them._ " Val told him.

"Ok, anything else I should know?" Tom asked Val.

" _No that's if for now._ " Val told him. " _Now I gotta go, I have a puppy trying to eat my Cheetos.-Get out of that. Oh my god! why are you licking me?! that's gros-_ " Val said, Tom smiled wryly as the phone disconnected after Val said a few choice curse words. He hung up the phone receiver and looked to Granderson who licked her lips to hide a smile.

* * *

"I'm home!" Lena said as she came through the door with a smile on her lips. Ravit and Zoe looked up from the table where they seemed be working on some kind of art. Maddy and Kate were nowhere to be seen. "How is everyone?" Lena asked.

"Kate's icky." Zoe said scrunching her face in disgust.

"She was unwell, so I told her to go to bed. Maddy's in the study with Val looking at her computer." Ravit told her, Lena nodded as she wasn't surprised as Kate hadn't got a lot of sleep. Add in stress, anaemia and a pregnancy. It was best she was resting. But she had to admit she was surprised about Maddy and Val and made a note to check in on them.

"And what are you girls working on?" Lena asked as she looked down at the paper to see child artwork. She didn't miss Scout on the floor asleep.

"Pictures for Daddy and Kate, so that he can smile and she gets better." Zoe said with a smile before she went back to haphazardly colouring in her artwork.

"That's very thoughtful and beautiful work." Lena said as she pressed a kiss to the top of Zoe's head and smoothed a hand over her hair. The girl looked up at her and smiled at the compliment. "I'm going to go see how Maddy and Val are going." Lena said.

She walked down the hallway and turned into the study, the door wide open. She looked at the maps and photos. Her hand stopping to touch the one of her son. She knew in her heart he would come home as she couldn't think any other way. She heard Maddy and Val's voices coming from behind the desk. She walked around the side to find Val and Maddy laying on their bellies on the floor with a bag of cheetos and cherry cola; both looking at a laptop.

"It's a voice and it's blocking the video channel which says it's transmitting at that frequency. I know that much but it's garbled." Val explained to Maddy like she were an equal.

"What are you going to do?" Maddy asked her.

"Not sure. I'm tackling like it's super complex when maybe I should be looking at it in a more simplified manner. I'm working with this guy named Dennis. He's ok but not as smart as me, so I figure he might see something I don't." Val told her with a shrug.

"No man appears to be smarter than you." Lena said, the girls looked over their shoulders at her. "Hi." she said to them.

"Hey Mrs S, we were just talking computer." Val said to her with a smile before she ate a Cheetos. Lena didn't allow junk food like Cheetos in the house but she wasn't going to say anything as it was Val's choice what she ate and frankly she didn't mind the girls having some 'naughty' foods every once and awhile. After today, it was a given they'd be allowed such things in moderation.

"I see, are you having fun?" Lena asked.

"Yeah, how did your date go?" Maddy asked.

"You had a date?" Val asked with interest as she had never heard of Lena dating and she couldn't help but want to know more.

"Yes, in court this morning. Maddy, I wanted you to know first that you and Zoe are staying with Kate and I from now on." Lena said with a smile. Maddy pushed up to her knees and looked at Lena with eyes full of hope that she was telling her the truth.

"Really?" Maddy asked her.

"Yes, I have custody of you girls which means you're staying here." Lena told her.

"What about Mom?" Maddy asked.

"She's allowed to visit you here but only if you want to see her. So no pressure." Lena said as she didn't want Maddy to feel like a horrible person for not wanting to see her mother. It was ok in Lena's mind if the girl wanted a break, Lena knew she wanted a break from Christina.

"What about school?" Maddy asked her.

"You'll still go to school and if you want we can get you re-enrolled into your after school classes too." Lena told her, that brought a true smile to Maddy's lips as she jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around Lena's waist.

"Yeah, I do! Thank you!" Maddy told her.

"You never have to thank me. I just want you to be happy." Lena said to her with a smile.

"Can we tell Zoe and Kate?!" Maddy asked her excitedly. Lena nodded.

"Definitely, but let me tell Kate a little later as she's resting at the moment." Lena said to her, Maddy nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

Mike sat up in the bed in the hut that was a crude infirmary at best. He looked around the room for something to use for Jeter's idea of using a shunt to create static on the radio tower. They'd been draining blood from him for the past twenty minutes, apparently a shipment had come in of new supplies as his guards had left him to help unpack.

His eyes dropped to what looked like some archaic medical equipment half obscured by a cotton sheet. He didn't care about the purpose of the machine but the roll of thin copper wiring on the top caught his attention.

"See something interesting, Captain?" Takehaya asked as he came through the door. Mike looked away from the machine as Takehaya came in with the black bandanna man seemed to have basic medical training who had the bedside manner of Nurse Ratchet.

"Looks like your boys scored some good loot." Mike said, Takehaya moved to stand in front of him eyeing Mike like one would eye their opponent trying to find his weaknesses. "What's with all the blood, anyway? Cure not good enough for you?" Mike asked him. The blood loss was taking it's toll on Mike as he felt woozy in the head and had pins and needles in his arms. A deep exhaustion seeped into his bones.

"The American cure is no cure. We were wiped out." Takehaya told him.

"Then you didn't have the real cure." Mike said as what he said didn't make sense. Takehaya pulled out a small bottle and stepped close to Mike making sure he could see the small amount of blue liquid in the bottom and the label on the bottle stating what it was, the date of production as well as it's origin.

"My dose. Made in USA." Takehaya aid, Mike looked at the bottle and frowned.

"Doesn't make any sense." Mike said as he'd seen the cure work and the bottle looked like all the others he'd been distributing.

"The virus would've killed me. But I got lucky. I got shot. A transfusion from a cured person. The next morning, the symptoms were gone. But it didn't last." Takehaya told him, it clicked in Mike's mind that Takehaya was doing the same thing that Granderson and her scientists did with Kate and Rachel. But it wasn't about furthering science. It was about Takehaya and his crew surviving.

"That's why you started hunting fresh blood. Our blood. You went to a lot of trouble to get me and my people. Why us?" Mike asked him, Takehaya nodded in confirmation to what Mike was accusing him off.

"You needed to pay for what you did to my country." Takehaya told him in a calm manner.

"Look. We had..." Mike paused as he lost his train of thought for a moment. "we had reports of possible mutation. What if those reports are right? What you're doing is making things worse. You can't send the ships back to America, you got to send them into Japan. Let them investigate. Our doctors will help. They'll help. I give you my word." Mike told him, he was pleading with the man as he knew they could help but Takehaya wasn't having a bar of it as he looked unconvinced by Mike's words.

"Your word means nothing." Takehaya told him.

* * *

"Colonel Nash." Kara said a little taken a back as she had never met the Colonel but she had not pictured Samantha as the woman before her. Samantha was wearing civilian clothing of black skinny jeans with black baggy boots with straps and buckles on them with a olive green and cream stripe top with a leather moto jacket and aviators on which suggested the meeting Samantha asked was more informal than Kara expected.

"Sorry, I'm early. May I come in?" Samantha asked Kara, she held up tray of fresh coffee and a bag of pastries. She'd called ahead so Kara was expecting her.

"Yes, of course. Ah- excuse the mess." Kara told her as she opened the door and waved Samantha in. Kara looked down at her button down denim shirt and boyfriend jeans grateful that she hadn't had time to dress up but at least her hair and teeth were brushed. "Can I take those?" she said gesturing to the coffees and the bag of pastries that smelt sinfully good.

"I'm good and I've seen worse. My brother had three kids under the age of 5 and their house was a disaster zone." Samantha said as she pushed her sunglasses off her face. The house in her opinion was well put together. There was some baby laundry and paraphernalia on one of the lounges in the living room but otherwise it was neat and tidy. She heard gurgling and looked over to the floor and saw the baby on her belly messing around on a play mat. "Where would you like to talk? Lounge room?" Samantha asked her.

"Yeah, my daughter is having belly time and I want to keep an eye on her. My friend would have come to sit with her but one of our other friends is sick and needed help." Kara said to her as she gestured for Samantha to take a seat on one of the lounges in the room.

"Of course, she's three months old?" Samantha asked not at all put off by Kara wanting be in the same room as her mother. It was like a 3 month old could divulge state secrets.

"Yeah," Kara said with a smile as she looked down at Frankie. It had felt good waking up and knowing her day was just for her and Frankie. That they could rinse and repeat for tomorrow. Of course she'd offer to help Kate in whatever way she could but for now she liked the freedom she had. It was quite liberating.

"I won't lie I looked into your record and Dennis told me how you take your coffee." Samantha told her as she pulled one of the coffees from the tray that was for Kara and placed it in Kara's reach.

"I expected as much." Kara said she picked up the take away cup and took a sip of the coffee and relished how perfect it was. It was a real treat to not drink instant coffee or the overcooked swill they served at the old courthouse. "Thank you." Kara said as she couldn't help but feel at ease with Samantha as she seemed so relaxed and non judgemental.

"No problem, I'm the one invading your Sunday. The least I do is bring you a coffee. I also got an assortment of pastries. Wasn't sure what you'd like." Samantha told her, she remembered what it was like to be a new mother and how coffee and food were always welcome.

"Oh I shouldn't." Kara said apprehensively, she was trying to be good as she worked hard to get into shape and it was a struggle finding the balance between Frankie and time to hit the gym or have the motivation for Pilates at home.

"You should, babies burn calories. I'll take half of whatever's left over with me." Samantha told her as she carefully tore open the bag to reveal the bounty of mini blueberry danishes, cherry strudel, chocolate croissants and normal croissants.

"Do you have children?" Kara asked as she snagged a blueberry danish. It wasn't like it would balloon her out to enjoy some naughty food.

"I did but they died from the Red Flu." Samantha told her as she didn't see any point in keeping it a secret. She found it hurt less to admit it than to deny it and let it fester inside her. It wasn't like anyone asked for further details as they all lost someone to the Red Flu.

"I'm sorry." Kara said with empathy as she couldn't imagine life without Frankie but knowing the fear of nearly losing her still made her cry when the nightmares hit her in the night.

"It's how it is. I wanted to talk informally about your time in Michener's admin. I've taken over as Senior Military Adviser. I'd just like to know what I'm walking into."

"I-" Kara started but stopped deciding to be honest. "I hate how I left, walking out as I did but they have very high expectations that I couldn't meet because of Frankie. Not that she's an excuse, it's just that she's my responsibility and they needed a staff member who could drop everything at a moment's notice." Kara said trying to be diplomatic but failing.

"Something that is very difficult when your spouse is deployed." Samantha said in understanding.

"Yes, I'm sure they told you how I walked out in the middle of the crisis." Kara said to her before she took a bite of the danish. It tasted amazing but sadly didn't help her mood as she was disappointed in how she left things even if she was glad to be out of Michener's administration.

"Not really, I'll be honest with you. You should never been running dual roles as Deputy Chief of Staff and Military Adviser. It's not a question about your capabilities but it's a job for two people. Military adviser should have been in place here months ago but the President relied on the CNO to fill that role." Samantha said in a dismissive manner that said she didn't want to discuss it further before she continued talking.

"-I've also been instructed to read Lassiter and Hatake in on the situation. I know you're friends with them. I was hoping given you are well versed with the CNO's playbook and the current crisis that you would stay on board but work off site with Lassiter as a liaison officer for the military. You can use your mobile to call and work from home. I just liked to have you in my pocket if you're interested." Samantha told her before she took a bite of the chocolate croissant.

"So I'd be working for you?" Kara asked for clarification. Samantha nodded as she washed down her food with her own coffee.

"Yes, you'll be working as a civilian contractor for the Military. I'd be your point of contact in the old court house and you'd relay to Lassiter for me and keep her posted. I'd also like it if you'd help get Val onto this noisy channel. I know she's probably working on it. But I wouldn't mind an introduction to her on middle ground. So if you're interested, I'll have a contracts drafted and get you on the books pronto." Samantha told her.

"Yeah, yes. I'd like that." Kara said, she hadn't read the contract but she liked what Samantha was offering as it sounded like she had complete control of her life and if shit hit the fan then she could use her phone and a computer to work remotely in case she couldn't get Frankie to comply with her. It was a real win her books.

"Great, I'll have my corporal drop by with the contracts, a sat phone and laptop later this afternoon." Samantha told her as she was glad Kara was on board with her as Samantha preferred to work with people who had a military background and Kara had a lot of admirable qualities in an officer that she didn't want to waste.

"Ma'am, can I ask what's going on with the search?" Kara asked.

"It's been narrowed down to the Paracel Islands. The Nathan James tried to refuel but Peng's fleet is sitting on the only refueling station in the area. So CNO has some cowboy idea of getting Peng to move the ships by asking him nicely." Samantha said with a shrug, happy to divulge the information given she trusted Kara. She figure if Tom trusted the woman to place her in the Old Court House then Samantha could trust her too.

"Is that really going to work?" Kara asked.

"We'll see, I'm hoping Lassiter Industries has something to contribute to this mess. MCIA picked up chatter that they had sent lab equipment to Japan to build a level 4 biohazard lab." Samantha said in a conversational manner. Kara was hesitant to say something but then decided to share half of what she knew as Samantha could subpoena Lassiter Industries' records and find out.

"Yes, they are investigating the mutation as they were afraid the cure had spoiled in transit or the quality of the batch sent was poor. But you'd have to talk to Kate to find out more information." Kara told her.

"I was planning to, given everything is currently in a lull. I thought perhaps you could let me know what's the best way to get Hatake and Lassiter to just sit down with me." Samantha said hopeful.

"Chiyo's House." Kara said, she wasn't sure if she should be betraying such information to Samantha but then she had a good feeling about Samantha.


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: as this story tends to lead along with the current season... I'm warning you now it's AU and about to get completely unrealistic in the science department as I make stuff up. Just fly with it as I acknowledge it's complete BS. Anyways thank you for all the reviews and sticking with it! Please ENJOY!_

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

* * *

"We're in." Sasha said to Tom as they were hunkered down behind one of the garden walls to the east of the property. It was just past 12:30 am Hong Kong time. Tom had spun Michener a good PR story for when things went wrong and didn't ask for permission. He knew he was running roughshod over Michener but it was easy to do so. Frankly Tom wasn't going to let his best friend die or field Kate's pregnancy for him. So Tom had to get Mike back ASAP.

He dropped down from peeking over the fence at the mansion to look at his sister. She sat in tactical gear with a tablet computer in hand. She didn't draw a sweat, in fact he couldn't help but notice how completely at home she was with all of this. He crouched down beside her and looked to the screen. Val had given them what he asked. Full access to Peng's security. He looked at the screens as Sasha flicked through the feeds to following Peng as the man walked through his mansion.

"And there he is." Tom said to Sasha who had selected four different camera feeds showing that Peng was going into the Mansion's indoor pool.

" _Force majeure set_." Danny said over the radio. Tom lifted his head up and looked over the ledge just in time for the electrical systems for the Mansion go out. A couple seconds later, the backup generators kicked in and the security forces within the Mansion started coming outside to search for a perpetrator or prepare for a fight from many aggressors as it was standard security protocols.

"Looks like they're taking the bait." Tom said as he ducked his head back down and joined Sasha at her side. Danny crept around the corner and joined them.

"Time for some technical difficulties." Sasha said as she started turning random cameras on and off to make it look like the system was glitching. Another screen popped up stating the system was being rebooted and Sasha looked to Tom. "They've rebooted the system." she informed him.

"All right, here we go." Tom said as they had no time to waste.

* * *

"Kate. Great timing." Lena said as Kate came down from her bedroom in search of some food and water to settle her churning stomach.

"Mmm. Hey everyone." Kate said as she moved into the kitchen to find the table was full with Anna, Ravit, Val, Kara, Lena, the girls with Frankie in a high chair. She was about to turn back to her trek towards the fridge but stopped as she saw someone at the table she didn't know. "You're new." she said pointing at the stranger, the woman smiled.

"Colonel Samantha Nash. Marine Corps. I brought lunch and heard you were ill so I got you Miso soup." Samantha told her as she tapped the lid of a soup container on the table. Kate moved from the kitchen to the spare seat next Maddy and sat down taking the soup container. She lifted the lid and smiled at the mouthwatering scent of warm miso soup and tofu.

"Ok, I'm listening." Kate told her before she took a sip of the soup and looked at the Japanese feast on the table. She wondered what she could eat and keep down as she really loved Japanese cuisine best and right now it all looked delicious.

"How you feeling?" Lena asked Kate.

"I'm ok, just some grumbly guts." Kate lied. She felt washed out and in need of 12 hours sleep; most importantly Mike home so she could lie on top of him and be comforted by his warmth and arms circling around her. Yeah, she needed him home A.S.A.P. not just for the girls but for as well. She really wanted to tell him about the pregnancy but

"You tossed your grumbly guts three times." Zoe reminded her before she shoved a gyoza in her mouth.

"Thanks for counting Zoe." Kate told her. The others at the table smiled in amusement and continued to eat as Zoe didn't understand what was funny about telling the truth.

"The food is from Chiyo's House." Samantha told her.

"Are we being buttered up for something?" Kate asked as Chiyo's House catered an entirely gluten free menu and also had vegetarian substitutions. It was a fairly popular dining restaurant as the food was amazing the staff and chef were incredibly nice and efficient. The settings was much like walking into a traditional Japanese dining restaurant. It always made for a fun night even if some people like Mike struggled to kneel on the floor, Kate felt Anna loved it best not because of the safety in being able to eat but because she was able to converse in Japanese with the staff and the owners knew her. So it was always a party.

"Yeah, Michener wants us read into everything that's going on. He also wants us to offer aid to the Japanese people in their current health crisis but keep it all under the table and at our expense." Anna told her as she used chopsticks plated up some food for Zoe and placed in front of the little girl who was armed with a fork.

"Is he going to lower my taxes?" Kate asked Samantha in an innocent yet mocking tone as she highly doubted the woman had that kind of pull. Frankly, she was suspicious of any olive branch the American government handed her.

"Doubtful but at least now you wouldn't have to illegally obtain information. Not that I'd say anything as I'm for keeping your company around." Samantha said to her, Kate looked Samantha taking in her features a little more than she did before. The woman was well put together and her hair was making Kate envious as she now wished she'd at least brushed hers. But then it was brush her hair or put on a bra. Yeah, the bra won out.

"Do we want this?" Kate asked Anna as her brain wasn't entirely with it as it was focused on drinking the Miso and possibly braving some rice. She took a sip of her soup and smiled as it made her tummy happy for the moment.

"Yeah, we do but only to cover our asses legally speaking of course." Anna told her and Kate knew if Anna was on board then so was she.

"Ok, I assume there's paperwork and as for the mutation in Japan. It's being investigated by their own people. We've supplied equipment and other sundries but it's only been a couple days." Kate told Samantha, she couldn't help but feel her stomach start to churn again as Michener and his cronies were hellbent on destroying her and now this woman was here giving them good food and an offer too good to be true.

"I understand that these situations aren't resolved overnight. But it's important to know if the virus has mutated then it's a problem for us all." Samantha told Kate and the others. The children didn't really care or understand as they were eating or in Frankie's case; a 3 months old who was more enthralled with trying to steal Kara's food to smush in her hands than eat.

"Yeah, you going to see Dr Rachel Scott?" Kate asked Samantha, knowing she would call Rachel and warn her just in case. Samantha seemed fairly straightforward but who she worked for left much to be desired.

"She's on my list but Michener hasn't mentioned her. I figured she might be on board with you given she made the cure. It'd be a waste not to bring her in on what's happening. We're trying to keep things friendly given the Japanese Government wants us out as much as the pirates do." Samantha said to her, Kate wasn't surprised at that.

The Japanese Government wanted to focus on the survival and restoration of their society now more than ever. It also didn't help that Michener had reminded them of the surrender of Japan their predecessors signed in 1945. It was a bad move on Michener's part given he wanted to remind the Japanese who was in charge and that they should side with America no matter what in the early days of the cure being distributed. It was his way of putting Japan it its place and silencing their reasoning that the cure not be sent to China but be shipped directly to Okinawa and distributed from their ports.

"Mmm, so we investigate the plague for Michener and in exchange he'll remove the warships from Japan's waters before the deadline?" Anna asked Samantha as they all knew Michener hadn't made any offers to remove the vessels but it was a good question to ask.

"Yes, Val already informed me that you're entirely up to date at the moment with us. So I haven't got anything new." Samantha said. Kate and Anna looked to Val who just gave a shrug like 'Of course I'd talk'.

"I hope some form of contract was signed before Val coughed up the goods." Kate said wryly as she wanted make sure their asses were covered.

"No, but I have one right here that requires both yours and Ms Hatake's signature. It's a non disclosure agreement, indemnity agreement and sovereign immunity. It means you can't speak a word of it, you can't sue the US military or Government. Also your company is legally protected from prosecution in case you decide to pursue the virus mutation or think of trying to contact the Pirates yourselves." Samantha informed them as she felt she was offering them a good deal. But she couldn't help but feel the reticence roll off of Kate and Anna even Kara held back with her. Samantha didn't take it personally as she was the new woman in what appeared to be a very strong and healthy matriarchy.

"I didn't know we could do that or be prosecuted for it." Kate remarked as Anna passed over the paperwork Samantha had given her earlier. She had to admit she hadn't thought of contacting the Pirates directly but then she had no clue what she would say or do to get Mike and the others back. She knew she'd give the Pirates anything they wanted.

"One would assume you'd take a less legal means to contact them that the US Government frowns upon." Samantha said to her.

"I thought of shuffling a SAT phone through the Yakuza." Val offered.

"Ninkyo Dantai" Anna corrected. "and they aren't gangsters who rub shoulders with Pirates. They are a legitimate social group with strong and beneficial ties to the Japanese Community" Anna informed Val in a serious manner. It was a bit of a sore spot with Anna as she held a genuine respect for the Yakuza given she worked with them and they had saved her when she escaped from Granderson's people in Baltimore. They'd taken her to a small Japanese enclave where the people helped keep her safe and cared for her.

"They'd have to rub shoulders with fishermen who'd run into pirates." Val argued with Anna with an innocent manner as if not implying they were criminals when everyone knew Val tended to see these things in black and white.

"Even so we can't do what the Pirates want. We don't have the power to move military vessels. Also only the federal government can give sovereign immunity. Something Michener doesn't have so that contract is Bullwinkle and I'm signing it." Kate said as she tossed that part of the paper onto the table.

"The others?" Samantha asked not perturbed by Kate's mistrust.

"Yeah, I'm in but don't think I'd do anything illegal to get those hostages. I'll do whatever I can that is above board and legally within my rights as I refuse to give Michener and his leeches any rope. I'd also prefer we not discuss this further in front of the girls or over food." Kate told Samantha as she felt they had all said too much already and she was honestly too tired to talk about it further for the moment.

* * *

Tom couldn't believe how smoothly this mission was going. They'd managed to get into the house undetected and all way to Peng's swimming pool where Tom was watching the man doing a fairly poor imitation of breast stroke. He moved to the edge of the pool and rested his hands on the butt of his rifle and just stood there waiting to be noticed. It didn't take long as Peng came up for air and jerked back in the water as he saw Tom before him.

"Get dressed. We have some business to discuss." Tom told Peng, the man went to the other side of the pool and pulled himself out. Tom raised his rifle in preparation and waited for Peng to dress. Peng was pissed off, at least he didn't say much as he quickly dried off and changed back into his suit. Tom motioned for him to go first as they exited the pool room. Sasha spoke in his ear telling him where the guards were as she had complete control of the systems until they finished rebooting it on the Peng's side of the mainframe.

"I am beginning to understand the roots of your success. You just refuse to die." Peng said speaking up for the first time. They slowly and carefully made their way back upstairs and towards Peng's office.

"Dying's never been a part of my operational plan." Tom told him as they made it to outside of Peng's office and stopped. Tom looked at him to open it but Peng just gave him a mocking look.

"I must've misplaced my key." Peng informed him with a sly smile. Tom grabbed his radio with one hand while his weapon was aimed at Peng.

"Door." Tom said into his radio. The door's lock beeped and showed a green light. Tom motioned for Peng to go first.

"Hello, Mr. President." Sasha said greeting Peng as he came into the room.

 _"You little bitch"_ Peng said in Mandarin. "After all I've done for you, granting you access to my home, my resources, my protection. I even looked the other way while you helped rogue pilots steal my cure. I could've killed you like I did your lover. And this is the gratitude I receive?" Peng asked Sasha scathingly.

Sasha fought to not roll her eyes as Peng made it sound like he was a disappointed benefactor. When he was just annoyed that she and Tom had the upper hand on him. He had lost his precious power. If it was known that they were here and had taken Peng hostage while his security was sweeping the grounds. Peng would lose 'Face' something he held onto very dearly as his reputation. It would really goad the man to know that Jesse was still alive but she had to admit that she hadn't expected him to know everything but in many ways wasn't surprised. She just wondered why he had held onto that information for so long.

" _I haven't even begun to thank you."_ Sasha promised him in Mandarin as. She gave him a closed lip smile as Wolf spoke over the comms. She tapped the screen of her Tablet and the door to the room unlocked and Wolf stepped in.

"All good. No one knows we're here." Wolf informed them.

"Just in time. Systems back on now." Sasha said as the tablet computer in her hand showed that Peng's security team in their server room now were back in charge.

"Let us skip the formalities, shall we?" Peng asked them in a mocking polite manner.

"Ok, I need fuel for my ship. Pho Kong harbor is blockaded by a fleet of your destroyers. You will remove them and allow me to refuel." Tom told Peng, it was clear he held a disdain for the man as he gave the order.

"Is this a joke? You come into my home, hold me at gunpoint to ask for ship fuel?" Peng asked in cynical disbelief at the dramatics being displayed just to get fuel.

"That's right." Tom told him in no nonsense manner.

"And if I say no? Then you kill me? This will surely start a war. Is your country ready for that?" Peng asked him, Tom sized Peng up for a moment for he sidled closer to Peng showing the man he wasn't shaken by him. To Tom; Peng was just a spoilt bully who managed to get to the top of the pile and into power by murdering anyone who stood in his way. He honestly believed Sasha's folklore story that Peng killed everyone in the bunker to gain presidency over China.

"You're not that great a swimmer. You don't get me what I came for, your men will find you floating face-down in your pool. And we will slip away just as silently as we arrived. No war." Tom assured him, Peng didn't look threatened in the least by Tom's words instead he gave Tom a smug smile and shook his head.

"No, Captain Chandler. You won't. You are too noble. " Peng informed him in a matter of fact manner.

"You're right. I won't. " Tom said agreeing with Peng even if he did want the man dead. He stepped to the side as Wolf stepped forward wearing a dark expression of anger.

"I will. No one ever accused me of being noble." Wolf assured the man in a dark tone as he thought of his brothers in arms that had died a few nights ago when Peng destroyed Lassiter Industries' office on Hong Kong Island.

"This one is out for blood." Peng said to Tom in amused tone as he tilted his head at Wolf not even perturbed the slightest by Wolf.

"Let's just say it's personal." Wolf told him.

"Ah. Your friends? I take it they were the ones in the Lassiter building when it exploded?" Peng asked him in a mocking innocence that made Wolf want to kill the man right now and be done with him as he had little respect for life.

"As far as the rest of the world knows, you had nothing to do with the attack in Vietnam or the destruction of my plane. Your hands are clean and can stay that way provided you answer my questions and give my ship the fuel it needs to find our people. If not..." Tom drawled knowing he didn't need to finish the sentence as it was clear Peng would die and the man had too much ego to die right now and Tom had a feeling it would put a real wrinkle in whatever his plans were for the Asian region.

"President Peng, as your adviser on Sino-American affairs, I'd say this is the best deal you're gonna get." Sasha informed Peng smugly.

* * *

Rachel looked over the newest results that had come in from Japan. The lab appeared to be operating 24 hours, the only problem was that majority of the scientists in the lab didn't have a background in cellular and molecular immunology as she did. One of the senior scientists was a behavioural neuro-scientist while the other had a strong background in Nuclear Physics. The others that staffed the lab were university students and junior pathologists. So the pathologists were glorified blood collectors as they had the degrees but not enough lab experience to interpret anything. The university students came from different areas of biology studies. So they once again had a basic understanding of what they were looking at and how to run a lab. But they still relied heavily on books and the guidance of their advisers.

Rachel wasn't trying to be harsh on them as they were doing what they could. The people in the lab were learning quickly, she knew in time they'd be leaders in their field not because there were few people to surpass them but because of their dedication and ability adapt to a field that wasn't their choice and still excel in it.

But on the downside, the survivors in Japan didn't have time and Rachel felt the need to talk with someone who had the background and experience in this field. She just didn't see the suggestion of it going down so well. But as she looked at the computer screen. She knew this was outside of her wheelhouse because she didn't completely understand what she was looking at herself. It looked like a bacterium of some variety. It had a coccus shape but how it acted, what it did was unlike any bacteria she could think of. She had a very bad feeling about where it originated.

"Hey, how's it going?" Jed asked as he sat down at the kitchen table opposite her. Rachel closed the computer and looked to Jed with a smile covering her concerned demeanour but failing as she could tell that Jed saw right through her.

"Good, I was wondering if you minded looking after the twins for me while I took the car and went to see Kate." Rachel asked him.

"Yeah, I can do that." Jed told her with a nod.

"I won't be more than an hour." Rachel assured him as she roe from the table to get going. She had fed the twins less than twenty minutes ago so they wouldn't need her right away for food.

"Do what you gotta do." Jed said to her as he felt it was good to see Rachel well and comfortable enough to get out of the house.

"Thank you." Rachel said.

* * *

"Master Chief." Mike called out in a weak voice. He had been unceremoniously dumped back into the hut as Takehaya was finished draining him. Mike felt like he was somewhere between passing out and possibly vomiting as his stomach cramped from a lack of food and dehydration from the blood loss. The others in the room buzzed around him in a nauseating fashion that made him close his eyes but he forced them back open as he had to share what he had with Jeter.

"You okay, sir?" Jeter asked him as knelt down on the floor beside him. Mike dry swallowed and nodded slowly as he knew after some rest he'd feel better and he also didn't want to show how weak he felt. Not that he'd admit it but right now he wanted to curl up in a ball and pretend he was anywhere else but he couldn't do that. He needed to be strong and pride also made him refuse to be the weakest link that broke the small crew's morale.

"Will this work?" Mike asked as he held out the small spool of copper wiring he took from the machine in the medical hut. Jeter's eyes went wide at the sight of the wire as a small closed lip smile played on his lips.

"Yeah, this will." Jeter assured him as he nodded, the sense of hope filled them all as they had a renewed purpose and a task to help them get rescued. It was something they all needed.

* * *

"Find anything?" Tom asked Sasha and Wolf as the two were going through all of Peng's office trying to find something they could use to help narrow down the search for Mike and the others. All Sasha had found was mundane state of affairs paperwork. Nothing that remotely spoke about the kidnappings or the attempted assassination of Tom but then she highly doubted Peng would have that kind of information down on paper.

"Nothing that connects him to Takehaya." Sasha told him as she hadn't found anything remotely related to anything nautical.

"Takehaya?" Peng rose out of the chair he had been seated in and looked to Tom incredulously. "You think I am working with him?" Peng asked them, he gave a chuckle and shook his head as if Tom and the others were morons for drawing the wrong conclusions.

"Not much of a stretch. My plane goes down same time my friends are kidnapped thousands of miles away. There's coincidence, and there's conspiracy. You want us to stop rummaging through your things, maybe it's time for some answers." Tom suggested to him. Peng rolled his eyes at Tom and shook his head as if he didn't deserve to know the reasons for his actions.

"Sasha. What do you make of this?" Wolf asked Sasha as he pulled out a map and laid it down on the the small table in the middle of the room for them to look at. Tom noticed Peng freeze slightly but once he glimpsed the map he seemed to relax like whatever was on the map was inconsequential to him. It made him wonder what Peng was really hiding on the side of the room that they had missed.

"Map of the Paracels. All these islands checked off like you were searching for something." Sasha commented as she looked to Peng for him to explain the map.

"As I have told you, Captain," Peng said ignoring Sasha "Before you came to China, the pirates were my biggest problem, threatening my ships, taking what did not belong to them. Takehaya is the worst of the worst." Peng informed him, he kept his arms by his sides. In fact his body language was unreadable to Tom as he could see Peng was telling the truth but he was so wooden like there was more to it than simply quelling piracy in the South China Seas.

"So you're hunting him. And you don't know where he is." Tom said, Sasha took a photo of the map with her tablet computer and motioned for Wold to keep rummaging the section of the office.

"If I did, I would've already kill him myself." Peng said vehemently. His eyes darted to where Wolf was now back to sorting through papers and rolls of maps.

"Maybe. But there's still the small matter of a very big coincidence." Tom said drawing the conversation back to the fact that his plane had been shot down at the same time as the kidnappings. There was also the Lassiter Industries offices that had been burned to the ground but he was letting that go as he wanted to focus more on the attack on America than a corporation.

"Bogey approaching." Danny said on the comms. Tom stopped in his conversation to Peng as a knock sounded at the door. Tom held up a fist signalling Wolf and Sasha to 'hold' in their positions as they'd paused their search when Danny radioed in.

Another knock sounded at the door and a man spoke mandarin through the door. Presumably he was addressing Peng, the door handle rattled as the man on the other side tried to open it. Tom looked to Peng and motioned for him to answer the door. Wolf pulled his side arm and moved to stand behind the door as Peng pulled it open.

Tom and Sasha stood to the side room near Wolf; he looked to his sister waiting for her to tell her when Peng betrayed them. Peng conversed in Mandarin to Lau hu the man's head of security. After a few words were exchanged; Sasha nodded at him, he took it to mean they were relatively safe. Peng spoke to his head of security for a couple more moments and then closed the door.

He tugged on his suit jacket and looked to Tom, "I suggest we wrap things up. He will be back." Peng promised him as he moved back to sit down in the chair he'd been in earlier. Tom couldn't help but feel uncomfortable by how compliant the man was being. It was incredibly suspicious.

* * *

"I don't think it's not a natural mutation." Rachel said as she stood in the study with Kate, Kara, Anna and Samantha while Val sat at Kate's desk. She had been introduced to Samantha Nash and had to admit she wasn't feeling very comfortable in front of the well dressed woman while she was mess of two day old clothing. She wished she'd actually taken some time with her appearance now but then Kate looked worse than Rachel did which was niggling at the doctor in her to do something. But she pushed it aside and focused on why she was here as she'd have to get back to the twins.

"How can you tell?" Samantha asked as she had her arms folded across her chest giving Rachel her full attention as she had since Rachel had been going over the background of situation with the virus mutation.

"What its doing. I believe it's a genetically modified coccus shaped bacteria. It wraps itself around the cure blocking it from doing its job of destroying the virus. The bacteria then slowly consumes the cure cell and moves onto the next." Rachel told them all.

"Wouldn't it run out of cure to eat?" Kate asked as they were all looking at the TV screen where Val had put up the visual aids Rachel needed. Showing the group of women the cure in it's natural state. The current state in the Japanese people who were alive showing the cure cells being wrapped up in the bacteria and clumping together.

"Yes, but by that time the person has died from the virus. Red Flu." Rachel clarified the last part for Samantha.

"Ok, so you don't know if this is a genetically modified bacteria for certain though. This is a hunch right?" Samantha asked her.

"No, it's a certainty. The bacteria is replicating in a slow manner like reproduction is a secondary or third act for it whereas normal bacteria would spread like wild fire in it's host. It also isn't contagious like the cure or virus. It was introduced and it has a very singular purpose. I'd put money on it that there is a lab out there growing this particular Bacteria. As to how it's being disseminated, I don't know." Rachel told them with a shake of her head and a confused shrug.

"You're saying that it was a biological attack?" Samantha asked carefully.

"Given it's only happened in Japan? I want to say yes. It was found in soil and water samples but they were dead which means it can only feed off the cure otherwise it dies. I'd like us to send over blood of cured people from here to Japan as well as have Milowsky brought to St Louis-"

"We can do the blood bank but I can't talk about that man. Excuse me." Kate said, she looked almost grey as she turned and left the room quickly. Rachel looked a little bewildered at Kate's exit. She understood there were subjects that they never discussed but she hadn't expected to rush out of the room at the mere mention of Milowsky.

"It's ok, she's been sick all morning. So she'd probably trying to keep her lunch. Just continue on." Anna said to Rachel in a reassuring manner, "Why do you need Milowsky?" Anna suggested as she was curious as to why they needed that man. Frankly she wished the man was dead but Rachel needed him.

"He's an expert in vaccine manufacturing and genetic engineering. I don't want him in a lab but he'd be able to confirm my assumptions that this is not a natural occurrence but man made. He could help me in understanding how to kill the bacteria without killing the host. Thus the cure will work and eradicate the virus." Rachel explained.

"You've made a lot of progress for 48 hours. This is good if it means we can resolve this issue in Japan quickly but I'm not sure how it's going to go down with having Milowsky moved to the brig on the air force base." Samantha said.

"Just make it happen. You're one of the highest ranking military members. Can't you just snap your fingers?" Anna asked Samantha.

"I don't have that kind of power." Samantha informed her wryly as she ran Norfolk base and coordinated with her military counterparts to help build their resources and employee bases but it wasn't like the old days. She definitely didn't have the power to give orders that Anna was talking about. "It's a lot of politics in the White house. It's not like I move a war criminal quietly without Alex or Allison sticking their nose into it." She added.

"Well, I can't talk to Milowsky in Norfolk. I have 6 week old twins who are rather dependant on my presence being here." Rachel told Samantha, making it known there was no way in hell she was going to fly to Norfolk even if she did need to talk with Milowsky.

"What about using someone as a representative?" Samantha asked as she didn't want to ruffle feathers and frankly moving Milowsky would not go over well. If the press caught wind of it; it would be even worse.

"Kate definitely won't do it and don't look at me. If it was my choice I'd shoot the man on sight and let's face it. He's not going to talk to anyone he can't gloat to." Anna told Samantha and Rachel.

"I could go." Val offered, everyone turned and gave her an odd look as she wasn't one to volunteer. "I'm smart, and we can set up a comm link between here and Norfolk. you can talk in my ear." She said to Rachel.

"If you're sure?" Rachel said.

"Yeah why not? How hard could it be to pander to some asshole's ego for a few minutes and it's not like I have stuff holding me here." Val said with a shrug just stating the truth as her work could be taken anywhere with her. She had no young kids dependent on her like the others in the room with exception Samantha.

"Ok, I'll set up the meeting for tomorrow." Samantha said.

"You know, the Japanese Government hasn't acknowledged Takehaya but I'd say he's ex-military due to his bearing. Maybe he's sick like the other Japanese civilians, if you're right about the blood of the cured people slowing the progression of the virus." Anna said to Rachel changing to topic back to the hostages.

"It would explain why those nine sailors." Kara said looking to the board as well as it came to her. "They are all different blood types." she told them pointing out the obvious even though the others had completely missed the connection.

"What?" Anna asked her as she rubbed a hand across her forehead. It was easy to see Anna was starting to get tired as she had paled somewhat over the past few minutes and dark circles appeared under her eyes but Kara knew better than to note on it.

"Val, look up their blood types. I'm fairly certain they are all different blood types. Danny is A positive." Kara said as she picked up a white board marker and wrote Danny's name and his blood type on the board. She wrote Burk's and looked to Val.

"That's right. Burk is B positive. Miller; AB negative and so is Rios. Garnett; B negative, Jeter; AB Positive, Diaz; O negative, Slattery is O positive and Mason was A negative." Val said as Kara wrote the blood types on the board and stepped back. They all looked at the board and realized that the crew wasn't just picked for their connection to the Nathan James and the US Navy.

"It wasn't just that they are Nathan James crew but their blood types played into it. This means we can negotiate." Kara said turning to face them.

"Trade blood for hostages. It's not going to fly with Michener. Plus if they wanted blood why not demand Lassiter Industries blood donations from you and Kate?" Samantha asked folding her arms across her chest as she looked to Anna for answers. There wasn't any secrets that Anna and Kate had genetically modified DNA that supposedly made their bodies more efficient but even Samantha found that claim questionable given Kate and Anna didn't look like the poster children for Healthy bodies.

"We're the only ones left who are genetically modified and trust me when I say it's no picnic. There's no way to know if our blood would do a better job and even if it does neither of us can donate blood as we're both suffering from anaemia since Baltimore and we're only two blood types. What about dialysis?" Anna asked Rachel, leaving Samantha to soak in the information as she hadn't been privy to the information she was now.

"Dialysis doesn't work like that. It removes toxins and waste not viruses. There was research into creating a filter that could remove viruses from blood but it was still in the hypothetical stage. I honestly don't know where to begin with that one though I do wish such a machine and filter existed. It would certainly make things easier." Rachel told Anna.

"Fair enough" Anna looked to Samantha "You'll have to move those vessels. We got nothing to bargain with except blood and I'm pretty sure that's illegal even when the blood is donated and why would they give up a live blood bank that continually replenishes itself for a few bags of blood and pray for a cure?" Anna asked making a valid point as they couldn't give the pirates anything of value to the pirates if their assumptions were on the ball.

"Hmm and even if you could. Flying into the Paracel Islands area even for a supply drop is a political nightmare given those islands are currently under dispute." Samantha said adding her two cents in as it was already a foregone conclusion. The ships would be moved, they just needed Michener to make the call before time ran out. She could tell given he hadn't given her permission to give the orders or a time when to call the two vessels.

"It's always been under dispute. China thinks it owns everything and the rest of Asia disagrees with them. You have three naval destroyers running around water China claims rights to. You're lucky Peng hasn't declared war on the US thanks to Tom cowboying out there." Anna told Samantha wryly.

"It's not like that and Tom is going to recover the hostages." Rachel said feeling defensive of Tom even though she knew Anna wasn't being offensive.

"But at what expense?" Anna asked her, Rachel opened her mouth to argue but then she found she had nothing to say as she understood it. "He's flying completely blind and he's been attacked by Peng. I tend to remember the man taking grudges, to go at Peng will start a war America won't survive." Anna pointed out.

"The CNO knows that." Kara said.

"Does he? or is he just like the rest of you who have friends and family in that group willing to do anything to get them back?" Anna asked in a rational manner.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

"Hey, we're just training Scout to sit." Lena said to Kate as she sat down on the back veranda next to her. She had to escape the study as Milowsky was a sore spot for her, and right now she was in a delicate enough state emotionally that she'd hinder them than help.

"How's it going?" Kate asked as hugged her knees to her chest and leaned her head on Lena's shoulder.

"Look for yourself." Lena said in amusement.

"Sit. Scout. Sit." Zoe told Scout but the puppy looked up at her and wagged his tail. His ass not even remotely close to the ground. Maddy tried next but Scout just looked happily between the two not sure of who to pay attention to but not stressed about it. Maddy and Zoe however looked incredibly frustrated with the task at hand.

"Not well, I see." Kate said with a chuckle as it was pretty cute watching them try and well Scout was so small and cute. It was hard to stay mad at him when he did things he shouldn't like chewing on a roll of toilet paper or marking his territory inside the house when he has a whole backyard to do his bathroom business in. Kate luckily had patience and knew Scout would learn given she already had him doing at least one trick.

"It's a work in progress." Lena told her with a smile, she looked to Kate and noted that she was looking a little despondent and incredibly pale. "Shouldn't you be in there?" she asked Kate as majority of the women had gone into the study when Rachel showed up. Only Lena and the girls stayed out while Ravit had something on so she was out of the house. Frankie was down for her nap.

"Everything is fine, I just had to leave before I lost my lunch." Kate told Lena.

"How are you now?" Lena asked her carefully as she felt the vomiting was more stress related than pregnancy related but then she wasn't a doctor.

"Still got the soup in there. So I guess OK." Kate half lied as she didn't feel alright. She felt pretty miserable at the moment as Rachel wanting to talk to Milowsky brought up bad memories for her. Only reminding her that she wanted nothing else than to just put it all behind her, she wanted to be stronger but right in the moment couldn't find it.

"We're all going to be ok." Lena said drawing Kate out of her thoughts. She rubbed Kate's back hoping to soothe whatever pain Kate was feeling and because it helped for her to hear the words herself.

"He's not doing it Nanna!" Zoe huffed in frustration as she ran over to them with an angry expression marring her cute features.

"Well, it took us a while to get you to sit and roll over so maybe Scout needs sometime too." Lena told Zoe as she pulled the little girl into her arms for a hug.

"He should listen to us." Zoe mumbled in an annoyed manner. Lena and Kate chuckled as the little girl pulled out of Lena's arms and stood her ground; folding her arms across her chest expecting a solution to be given to her.

"He does, but he's young and needs time to learn. So you have to show patience." Lena said to Zoe, Maddy walked over to them also looking relative annoyed as Scout had lost interest in the girls and was now wandering around the yard gnawing on random things.

"He's not listening." Maddy told them as she joined them.

"We don't speak dog." Kate joked, the little girls looked at Kate with annoyance as they didn't appreciate her comment but Kate couldn't help but smile. "Look it's easy, I've been training Scout in the mornings when you're asleep. So watch." Kate told them, she whistled and called his name. Scout who'd been gnawing on the garden hose perked up and looked to her. She motioned and the puppy galloped toward her. Within seconds he was at her feet dancing around wanting her attention.

"Scout. Sit." Kate ordered in a firm tone like she were ordering a soldier, the puppy looked at her when she said his name and plonked his bum on the ground and wagged his tail.

"What?!" Maddy said in disbelief as it seemed like Scout was against her and Zoe but at least she wasn't alone in being left out.

"It's all about tone, eye contact and saying his name. Now, Maddy we can train him to lay down if you grab a few small bits of turkey from the fridge." Kate told her, Maddy nodded and ran into the house to the fridge.

"But I want to train Scout first." Zoe said in a rather presumptuous manner. Kate pursed her lips as she didn't like the sense of self entitlement that Zoe displayed in those few seconds but she had to be diplomatic about it.

"You can teach him the next trick but for today it's Maddy's turn to teach Scout. You can watch and learn from Maddy and I. Ok?" Kate asked her.

"Ok, though Mommy always let's me go first." Zoe told Kate in a matter of fact tone. Lena looked over Zoe's head and shared a knowing look with Kate as it was another one of Christina's less than stellar parenting skills at work. Kate had to wonder if the competition between the siblings was something knew or that it somehow balanced out with three kids when Lucas was alive.

"I'm sure she does but in this household we all take turns and share in our duties." Kate explained to Zoe as she wasn't going to foster Christina's ideals in the girls or pit them against one another. Right now Maddy needed to be shown she had equal footing with Zoe especially given there would be a third sibling in the mix in the next few months.

* * *

Mike laid on the makeshift bed exhausted and shaky as he was still weak from the last blood 'donation' he'd given and Miller's broken ankle didn't give him much choice but the lay down and rest. Garnett had spent majority of the night up with Jeter twisting multiple threads of copper wiring together into that looked like a twizzler stick to Mike. He just hoped it would do the job of creating static at the radio station Diaz had spotted in his run.

"Incoming." Rios said as he and Diaz were acting as lookouts. They quickly moved to the spot and sat down. Jeter who'd been threading the copper wire through the hole in the plastic spool it came on; stopped in his progress and passed it to Miller. The man shoved it under his mattress and adjusted his body just in time as the door opened.

"Rise and shine." Toshiro said in a mocking manner as he walked into the hut like he were King lording over them. He clicked his fingers and pointed at Garnett. He looked around at them all waiting for them to fight him, to give him a reason to punish them as two burly pirates came in and pulled Garnett to her feet and pulled out of the room.

Toshiro waited a beat as he looked at them all before he left the room disappointed. Once the door closed behind him, Diaz and Rios were back on their feet and looking out the window and the large cracks in the front door.

"Clear." Rios announced, a sense of relief washed through the room as not having their 'device' discovered but the concern for Garnett only grew exponentially as she was alone outside of the protection of their group.

* * *

A few hours later,

"How do you feel about this job?" Kate asked Kara as Rachel, Val, Anna and Samantha had left to go back to their homes. Presumably Samantha was back in uniform and at work as Kate couldn't imagine her sitting around for a lazy weekend. Kara and Kate stood in the study as Kara updated Kate on everything she missed. Kate had to admit she liked being on the outside of the decision making as she didn't feel like she had anything to add to what was going on and frankly she was too driven to get Mike home. Something that Kate knew wasn't helpful for keeping a clear and rational mind and there was something rather soothing when it came to listening to Kara talk as she spoke with quiet confidence that imbued a sense of hope to the situation that even with no plans everything would work out.

"It's a step down, I've gone from senior staff to middle-" Kara stopped for a moment as she didn't want to be disparaging. "But it's interim work that allows us unfettered access to everything Colonel Nash knows. I can tailor my own hours." she finished with a resigned shrug.

"You know, it's ok to turn it down." Kate told her, Kara smiled appreciating that Kate knew how she felt without having to say it.

"I know but what am I going to do?" Kara asked her, feeling frustrated how there was no easy answers or best way to go forward. It was always a side step, one step back before being able to move forward again. She wondered if it was worth it or not.

"Kara, it's ok to take time for yourself. You have nothing to prove to anyone." Kate told her.

"Don't I?" Kara asked with a huff as she felt like she did. It was something instilled in her from her childhood and throughout her life as she always felt she needed to prove she was worth her mother's sobriety and time. After that is was proving her worth in the Navy and breaking the annoying stereotypes of being a woman. Sure it wasn't overt but she felt it when the more misogynistic crew members looked at her with annoyance as they felt she'd just get married and be a baby factory thus wasting all of their time. "I see people working incredibly hard and they have kids and I walk out on a perfectly good job just because-"

"You walked for good reasons and you're lucky to be in a position where you could afford to. Now let me tell you being an employer you need to understand who you're employing. You have a mobile phone and you took ten minutes, in which time you could have been on the phone listening as it happens and advise in the moment. They didn't do that which is on Michener and his cronies. Any time there is an emergency it's always going to take time for people gather. I would expect even my footloose and fancy free employees to take at least 30 minutes to muster. So don't beat yourself up." Kate told her.

"You're right." Kara admitted appreciating Kate's words as she felt Kate did have a better understanding of the civilian world than she did. As she felt the military wouldn't have been so lenient but then Kara had to remind herself that she wasn't in the military anymore so different rules applied. Or so she hoped.

"Anyway, it might be a step down but this woman must have plans for you other than using you as a mouth piece. Maybe just see how this goes and take the paycheck until you figure out what you really want to do." Kate said to her.

"I wish I could go back to being pregnant and TAO. Things seemed much simpler on the ship." Kara said blowing out a breath.

"Yeah, I don't think Frankie would be too happy about going back into the oven for you at her current size." Kate said, the both of them chuckled as the imagery as it was horrific and amusing at the same time.

"True, can't say I'd like that either. How are you?" Kara asked her.

"Fine, this anaemia is kicking my butt today." Kate told her.

"Vomiting might be just stress and pregnancy. Morning sickness with Frankie was brutal. One minute I was good, the next I was vomiting over the side of the ship. Are you going to tell the girls?" Kara asked out of curiosity and because she was looking to commiserate as she knew what it was like to be partnerless while pregnant. Sure she and Danny were on the ship but they weren't together in the traditional sense and it wasn't until the later stage of pregnancy that they were able to be a 'real' couple and she could demand foot and back rubs. Claim pregnancy cravings and demand Danny find them, except she didn't pull that stunt very often as she just wanted to soak up their time as a couple before Frankie came into the mix.

"I'm seeing an OB/GYN tomorrow so I'll ask her what's going on. The girls have never seen me healthy so it's not like I have to tell them much." Kate said as she rubbed her face with her hands as she felt like nothing was getting easier just more complicated and harder to handle.

"I don't envy you. It can't be easy with everything going on. Are you going to tell the girls?" Kara asked as she felt lucky that Frankie was too young to understand why Daddy was gone or the kind of danger he was in everyday because of his job.

"No, I'd rather wait for Mike to come home as I'm not ready to field the 'how are babies made' topic. I already had to field the 'prisoner of war' conversation. So it's his turn." Kate said with a tired laugh as she rubbed her face with her hands again like it could just wipe away everything bad and leave the good.

"Of course." Kara agreed with a smile of amusement as she knew Zoe liked to ask a lot of questions. Kara could just imagine that conversation being incredibly difficult given it had to be clean enough in case Zoe started spouting it around with the other kids. Kara knew she'd be letting Danny have that conversation given she just wanted to watch him squirm in discomfort.

"Hey, you sticking around for dinner?" Kate asked her.

"If you don't mind?" Kara asked her. Kate made a face as she wondered when Kara would stop feeling like it was an inconvenience for her to stay for dinner.

"Of course, we don't. Come on, let's get out of this room and join the others. Maddy taught Scout how to lay down." Kate said to Kara with a proud smile as she liked seeing Maddy smile and feel like she'd accomplished something that wasn't compared to Zoe or anyone else.

* * *

"The clock is ticking." Peng said as he sat in his chair. They'd trashed the office and found nothing of use other than the map of the Paracel islands. So they had righted the room as best they could as they wanted it to be as if they were never there. But Peng was right, they were running out of time as the sun was already risen.

"You have only a few hours before Takehaya's deadline. And he will certainly keep his word and start executing hostages." Peng added, Tom looked to Peng as the man had relaxed visibly since they stopped searching his office's paperwork. So they had to have missed something. But Tom felt they'd figure it out later as Peng wasn't one to keep secrets for long.

"We'll leave, but not until I get the truth about why you tried to kill me and why you burned down Lassiter Industries offices." Tom said.

"Maybe I needed your help to fight the pirates. Your country would never send support. I could force their hand by framing Takehaya for your deaths and the deaths of those at Lassiter Industries. I not only have America but also Australia's assistance including a large corporation to fund it all." Peng said with a shrug as if it were plain as day to see.

"That's not it." Tom said as he didn't believe a word coming out of the man's mouth.

"Or maybe it was that you came into my home just as she did," Peng looked to Sasha indicating that it was her he was referring to. "Belittling my intelligence and underestimating the reach of power. Insult me in front of my people and the delegates. So I remove your seat of power here; Lassiter Industries satellite offices. Or maybe I'm just sick of seeing your face and your good deeds being thrown all over the place and decided to make your death the reason for a war. Who cares for the reasons? The most important thing we have is that we now have a common enemy in Takehaya, and you are running out of time." Peng told him.

" _Refuel complete, sir._ " Burk said over the comms.

"Roger that. We're on our way home." Tom replied.

" _Alpha, you got six tangos coming your way from the north end._ " Burk told them, Sasha pulled out her tablet computer and turned it back on to look at the security feeds. She looked to Tom and confirmed what Burk was saying.

"Green?" Tom asked.

" _Hall is clear._ " Danny replied.

"They got our north exfil covered." Sasha told Tom, as she looked through the camera feeds.

"We'll take the south side. Kill the cameras." Tom ordered, Sasha did as he asked and then slid the tablet computer inside the safety of her kevlar vest again.

"Thanks for the hospitality." Sasha told Peng with a smile as she pulled her rifle back into her arms and moved to the door. She looked over her shoulder to Wolf and saw him take one of Peng's knives. She fought the urge to roll her eyes as she didn't see the point in taking souvenirs but Wolf was pissed off.

Tom opened the door and Wolf took point as they exited the room into the hallway. The only problem with the south exfil was that they had to exit via the main lobby and it was nearly 6am so it wasn't like they weren't going to go unnoticed unless the MSS stuck to the north side of the building trying to find them.

But sadly as they made it to the main foyer they were caught. MSS agents poured in from all sides with their weapons raised and shouting at them to drop their weapons and surrender. Danny, Wolf and the others in the group started shouting for them to drop their weapons. Sasha remained silent as the cacophony of noise meant anything she said would not be heard. She counted the men and calculated their odds as fairly even but it would mean taking a pretty high risk.

She felt something brush at her shoulder and saw Peng as he moved past and in front of her weapon. She was half tempted to pull the trigger for Jesse's brother and his friends. But she kept her trigger finger poised where it was. Killing the asshole would not help them, it would make things worse given Peng stood in front of Lau Hu ordering him to lower his weapon.

Sasha looked at Lau Hu and saw the man's struggle in whether to follow orders or just fire at them. Peng ordered him to lower his weapon once more, his tone colder than before. Lau Hu who was staring hard at Wolf took a moment before flicked the safety on his berretta and placed it slowly back into his shoulder holster and pulled his suit jacket back into place concealing his weapon.

"You next." Tom ordered Wolf, Sasha knew Lau Hu and Wolf were in their own pissing match over who was a better fighter. That and she had a feeling the grief he felt over his fallen comrades at Lassiter Industries played a huge part in his struggle to surrender. Sasha could see the strain in Wolf to not give into his desires to kill Lau Hu and Peng. But he did as Tom ordered and lowered his weapon. Sasha lowered her own weapon and watched the silent exchange between Peng and Tom as they acknowledged one another as temporary allies.

"Go. Kill Takehaya." Peng told Tom, Tom looked to Sasha and gave a nod for her to go before him. Lau Hu made a show of stepping to the side, she didn't miss the way the man bared his teeth at Wolf as the man passed by him. She waited on the front step and looked back in to see Tom stop in front of Peng.

"I'll see you again." Tom promised him.

"I look forward to it." Peng replied drily, Tom gave a slight nod of his head and stepped out of the mansion and joined her as Danny and Cruz took up the rear.

* * *

"So how is Kate?" Tex asked as they settled in bed some hours later after dinner. He'd asked earlier but with Kat's presence he'd known that Anna was downplaying everything to keep everyone feeling calm. But he could see the concern in her eyes for her best friend.

"She's doing her best but her tolerance for all of this shit is really low." Anna said as she turned on her side. She folded her pillow in half and hugged it for comfort but also to prop her head up so she could look at Tex's silhouette in the dark room. The moonlight filtered through the half drawn shutters to their bedroom window, so she couldn't see much but the outlines of his head and body in the dark.

"I can't blame her for that. You've both been through the wringer." Tex said with a sigh as he pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. He was worried about Anna and Kate. That the two were taking on more than they could handle. That they would be caught up in something illegal and Michener would throw the book at them. Mostly he was worried about their health.

"She walked out at the mention of Milowsky. I think it would have been better if we had sold the company and just kept to ourselves." Anna said to him, it never ceased to amaze her how easy it was to confess things in the dark.

"You can still do that." Tex reminded her as it wasn't the first time they discussed it. Anna had to admit it was tempting but then she enjoyed the sense of purpose that work gave her. Frankly she was a terrible housemate. Sure she kept things relatively clean but she wasn't speedy and efficient. She was a couch hogger and she definitely did not cook. She could bake things but majority of food left in her care ended up either on fire at some point or burnt to a crisp. Luckily Tex didn't mind her less than stellar qualities.

"Not now with all these contracts that are contingent on us being present and the company picking up the slack for the US government once again. Being pregnant with Mike away not really helping given the two didn't talk about having kids together and now there's one in the oven. I think she's stressed he'd going to flip his lid." Anna said with a sigh.

"We never talked about it. Well, not seriously anyway." Tex remarked as he turned on his side and looked to her.

"You're going to think I'm selfish." Anna said she couldn't help it as she had more people walk out of her life than stay with her like Kate had. She hugged a little tighter onto her pillow for comfort. "But I'm in a really good place health wise and I feel like a semi functional human being. I have my flare ups but for most part I feel I found a nice balance where I can do all the things I want. I have time and energy for you and Kat with some spare for friends." She told him.

"You think a baby or a kid could throw it all out of whack." Tex surmised, he could understand why she thought she would sound selfish. But he had learned a lot about Anna in the past few months to know she wasn't being selfish. At least not in a malicious or self centred manner where she only took her own needs into account.

"Yeah and I don't want to disappoint you or Kat. It would also put a lot of strain on you too because it's not just two dependants but three dependants." Anna argued.

"I could handle it." Tex promised her, as he loved her. He would give her anything and do anything to make her happy.

"I know but it isn't fair and I tired of disappointing people. I spent three years of my life disappointing COs, friends, family by not being 'normal' and 'healthy'. I've had so many people walk away from me because I didn't meet their exacting standards or live up to the standards of society of getting married and having babies when I was in my twenties. I have no property, I barely drive and I got a gamut of issues. I couldn't take care of a baby and I don't want to because I know I'd fail miserably at it." Anna said making excuses but also sharing her fears of her limitations.

"Nobody is perfect at parenting. If you really want a kid..." Tex drawled making it clear he was open to discussing it.

"Honestly, I don't want a baby but if you do. I'd do it for you and we'd see how we go but it's something that really scares me. We have Kat who is amazing and low maintenance. She's perfect what if the next one is like this demon child." Anna told him.

"I doubt you'd give birth to the anti-Christ." Tex said with a chuckle but he heard her loud and clear. He knew Anna deep down at one point wanted children but because she never said 'no' outright or show a hatred to kids. It was her illness that took a toll on her life and what she felt she could do. Her perceived limitations held her back and her reasoning was sound to him not selfish. He knew she loved kids and treated Kat as family. But he could also tell that drive women had when they wanted a baby was not there. He if he were truly honest with himself, he didn't want more kids. It wasn't that he didn't like kids. He loved them, He just like the way their life was now with Kat.

"You don't know, I have genetically modified genes. I could give birth to a blue furball." Anna argued in good humour.

"It's a possibility, though I'd say he'd be more of a brown furball with reddish streaks." Tex said smiling as he pulled Anna into his arms. She drapped one of her legs over his hip and snuggled in close to him. "But he'd be cute and growl." Tex added.

"You want something cute and growly then adopt a dog." Anna said teasingly.

"Dog is a big commitment. Maybe we can get one after we get married." Tex said thoughtfully. Anna blinked and wondered if maybe she had misheard him.

"You want to get married?" She asked him as she pulled her head back to look at him. She was half tempted to turn on the lights but right now she wasn't sure she could handle him joking about getting married.

"To you, most definitely. That's if you'll have me." Tex told her, Anna's heart flurried in excitement as it might not be some grand gesture of flowers and getting down one knee but damned if she wasn't swept away.

"You want to marry me?" She asked him, needing to be sure as she had pretty much given up on a lot of things in her life. Tears, happy ones sprung into her eyes as she could handle the absence of an amazing career, making the rank of Major, of not having biological children of her own or a traditional life her parents made her believe meant she would be happy.

She had adapted and frankly thrived with Tex and Kat, they were the perfect balance to her. They made her feel important, they made her feel like she was perfect as is with all her drawbacks. So the fact Tex wanted to make it permanent arrangement made her incredibly happy.

"I do, thanks for asking and I also want a ring but a very small intimate wedding not inside a church. Maybe a park or a garden." Tex said as moved his face in close to hers an softly dragged his nose up her cheek and over as he was trying to find her lips in the dark.

"Wow, someone's been thinking about this a lot." Anna said in an amused tone as she smiled widely in the dark.

"I have. So what do you say?" Tex asked her in a low voice, his lips hovering over hers.

"Yes." Anna whispered with a wide smile on her lips. She cupped the side of his face with one hand and kissed him. "I love you so much." she said against his lips before she kissed him.

"I know, and I never get tired hearing you say so." Tex told her before he kissed her back in a slow and deep way that made Anna's toes curl and her body liven up as pleasure and joy washed through her.

* * *

"Fuel's at full capacity, Sir. We even found a warehouse filled with canned goods, sodas, snacks, kind of like a regular gas station." Cameron told Tom as they stepped into CIC.

"Hope you picked up some lottery tickets. Could be our lucky day." Tom joked, but he was grateful that they had ended up with more than fuel. He spotted Sasha working with Burk, Granderson and Mejia at the Nav station.

"Here's our original search area. Lieutenant Granderson, can we overlay Peng's map with our own?" Sasha asked her, Alisha took the image that Sasha had taken at Peng's office and stretched the image and overlaid it over the map their ship's systems had.

"Suddenly our search area just got a hell of a lot smaller. We can rule out all these islands." Granderson commented from her chair sounding hopeful as it did rule out a good number of islands. But there was still a lot of Islands left to search.

"Still alot of islands to cover though." Burk argued.

"Agreed, but with UAV and using Lassiter Industries Satellites we can narrow it down." Tom said as he folded his arms and looked at the screen. He wished Peng had crossed off more islands and saved them some time. But that would be too easy.

"Sir, are we going to break EMCON?" Cameron asked confused as he didn't really get the connection or how it could help them to use the satellites if he gave away their position to call home for access to them.

"No, I have the codes to access the satellite networks. But let's focus our UAV search to this cluster of islands here." Tom told them as he gestured to the left hand side of the map where there were larger islands. "Those five are big enough to have small settlements on and we'll be closer to them than the others. I also want CIC to keep an eye out for the Chinese Fleet." He added. He didn't trust Peng to leave them alone in their hunt for Takehaya.

"Yes, Sir," Cameron and the others said in near unison acknowledging his orders.

"Sir, I recommend we search east to west. That'll put the morning sun behind us." Mejia said as he passed Tom a clipboard with a smaller map of the proposed course and all the information necessary for Tom to make a decision on it. Tom gave a nod as it all looked in order.

"Very well. Set a course, all ahead, full." Tom ordered.

"Aye, sir." Mejia said as he headed to pass on the orders. The others in the group dissipated leaving Sasha and him standing in the middle of CIC. The sailors around them getting to work on the task in hand than eavesdropping.

"4 hours to the deadline." Sasha said in a low voice to him.

"I know." Tom said as he felt the clock ticking on this one more so than he had in the past.

"Michener hasn't moved the ships from Okinawa bay. He's cutting it close." Sasha said to him.

"He will move them. Until then we have to make these four hours count." Tom said as he was trying not to think about it. He trusted Michener not give him the time he needed which mend giving in to the Pirates on moving their two Navy vessels from Japanese territory. "Tell me how deep are we in it with Peng?" Tom asked as how they exited Hong Kong wasn't exactly how he expected it to go.

"He's going to come for you as soon as you take out Takehaya. It's about saving face, both of you have embarrassed him." Sasha told him.

"What is his deal?" Tom asked as he didn't get the concept of saving face when Peng was supposedly their ally.

"Other than being psychotic?" Sasha asked injecting levity in the conversation with a light smile.

"Yeah, you lived with him for a while. You don't have any insights?" Tom asked, he really wanted to know what had passed between the two given how Peng acted in her presence. He also hadn't missed the conversation between the two in Mandarin and while he could understands tones and body language. He didn't know what was being said except that they had a deep seated hate for one another. It made him wonder what but he didn't want to push it in fear of ruining his relationship with Sasha. She was a private person and he knew if it was relevant to the mission she'd speak up or at least he hoped she would.

"He wasn't my boyfriend." Sasha offered, Tom pursed his lips trying to keep a straight face as he didn't make the assumption that Sasha used her sexuality as a tool in her line of work. That and Peng didn't act like a slighted lover.

"He likes to think of himself as your benefactor." Tom said clarifying his take on Peng and Sasha's relationship.

"He only let me in his house because the Us Government decided to acknowledge my existence and Peng knew who I was. So he thought I would be his ally. Hence I sat at the table instead of behind you like the other Interpreters. It's all about throwing around one's power." She told him, clearing up something that had been prickling at the back of his mind as she had been seated at the table denoting she were an equal to Tom.

"So nothing about his general politics and what his main goals are?" Tom asked, Sasha thought on the question for a moment before answering.

"He's all about returning China to power which to Peng is being at the top of the pile with money, land and power. Hence the disputes with Vietnam and Korea and encroaching on their borders. Not to mention any oceans and Islands near China. It's all land grabbing. He believes that those territories belong to China all along but that's old news. China's been fighting for those territories for longer than we've been alive." She said with a shrug.

"But he's decided he's going to be the man to do it." Tom said which made Peng more dangerous as he was driven by honor and obligation much like Tom was.

"He's very traditional in some respects and contemporary in others." Sasha said encapsulating the issue of Peng very well as one moment he was in the same century as them but then held archaic views on some matters that Tom thought had long died in the Three Kingdoms War.

"Why can't things just be peaceful and copacetic?" Tom asked. Sasha couldn't help but smile as everyone wished that was possible. She had thought that after the pandemic that people would stop fighting, stop being petty and selfish but they hadn't.

"If it was, we'd be unemployed." Sasha told him.

* * *

"Oh, just kill me." Kate murmured as she finished throwing up for the 7th time in the past twelve hours. She was firmly set in that she had a stomach bug because she had at least twelve weeks of no real symptoms. She laid down on the cool tiles of the bathroom floor and closed her eyes feeling incredibly miserable. Time was running out for Mike and the other hostages, Michener hadn't moved the ships yet and she couldn't do anything but hope that Tom found Mike in time or Takehaya didn't choose to execute Mike first. The latter of those scenarios made her feel like a terrible person.

She pressed her hands to her face and tried not to think too heavily on it given she needed to rest. She wondered if she should cancel the doctor's appointment in the morning. She knew tomorrow wasn't going to be fun either way, the sound of tiny paws clicked on the tiles. Kate dropped her hands down just in time for Scout to lick her face.

"Oh that is disgusting." Kate said half laughing as Scout licked across her forehead. She gently pushed his body away as he seemed intent on getting her attention. He gave a tiny bark and playfully mouthed her hand as she tried to stop him from licking her face. Puppy kisses were cute but she just didn't want that kind of intimacy with her dog. She pushed herself upright and crossed her legs under her as Scout kept coming at her wanting to play.

"We're not going to play. It's sleep time." She told him but Scout was not having it. She felt herself melt as he was just so cute as he sat down and looked at her and did a head tilt as if to say 'Why aren't you playing with me?'. She tried to get him to calm down but Scout was too energetic for his own good as he just squirmed excitedly under her hand. So she gave up and slowly rose to her feet and opened the kiddy gate she used to keep him in the bathroom at night. She was really going to have to buy crate for him as she couldn't share the ensuite with Scout forever and there were somethings she preferred to do with the bathroom door closed.

"You're getting your wish but only because I need to drink something not because you're cute and I'm vulnerable." She told him as she shooed him out into the bedroom.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

* * *

Mike moved to the bucket of water and scooped out a cup for himself a cup of water when the door opened. Mike leaned heavily against the wall as he felt washed out and nauseous. He now had a better understanding of how Kate had been feeling the past few months and was in awe of her as she managed to work, have time for friends, energy and love for him and the girls. Here he was a hostage and he could barely stand on his two feet and get a cup of water; let alone try to fight for his life.

He did however push off the wall and force his body to try and stand on his feet; all in an attempt to not look weak as Takehaya walked in. He was a poster boy for good health and vitality as he walked with no weakness. His skin no longer pale as before, he even had a swagger in his step as he walked up to Mike with a piece of paper in hand.

"Michael Slattery, Captain, United States Navy. Serial number 17181120. I rewatched the video." He paused as he looked at the piece of paper in his hands and wore a small smile like he was impressed and pleased. Two things Mike didn't want that man to be. "Very clever. And very stupid. You have led your friends to their deaths." Takehaya told him, he dropped the piece of paper on to the floor and walked out of the hut.

Mike leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor wondering what Takehaya meant. He had been wondering how large Takehaya's collective of pirates was, how many ships they had, and what type of armada they had. Mike knew they had a freighter as it was the ship that had transported them to the island. But if Takehaya was ex-military there was a good chance he took his destroyer with him. Mike had to keep hope as Tom had yet to be defeated in combat and there was no way he'd sail to their coordinates without doing recon.

* * *

"Approaching the first island now, Sir." Mejia announced, Tom looked out the front window with Sasha at his side. It was so strange having his sister at his side, he wasn't entirely sure why she was up here but it seemed like she preferred to be in the thick of things. He tried not to think too much on what she wasn't telling him. He looked out the front and could just make out the outline of the first island. Tom picked up the phone receiver from the front dash in front of Mike's chair and dialed CIC; once Alisha picked up on the other end he spoke.

"CIC, Bridge. I want full power, sonar. Peng's ships could be lurking." Tom ordered, once Alisha acknowledged the order; he hung up the phone and looked up just in time to see the water a few thousand feet in front of them explode.

"Pull engines back, full!" Tom ordered as he braced himself against the Captain's chair as the force of the engines pulling the ship back shifted the gravity of the vessel. Anything that was loose fell off and onto the floor towards the front of the ship as it slowly fought the current and forced itself back. Cameron was at the back of the bridge shouting orders over the P.A. system for the crew.

"General Quarters, General Quarters, mines in the water. Set Condition Zebra. All decks. Disengage shafts." Cameron ordered, his voice booming over the P.A.

"Disengage on." a crewman shouted.

"No turns port and starboard. Rig for Quiet One." Tom shouted over the cacophony of the alarms, engine noise, people shouting information and confirming orders.

"All hands, rig for Quiet One. The reason for General Quarters is mines in the water. Secure all spaces, Set Condition Zebra." Lt Commander Burk continued over the P.A. system, he hung up the radio receiver and went over to a console and turned on screen in preparation to show what the King Fisher was detected as he called down to CIC for a report from their ASW officer manning the sonar station.

"Shut down long-range sonar. Shine Kingfisher." Tom ordered,

"Shining Kingfisher. Aye." Cameron said before he passed the orders down the line. Tom turned to Sasha who was keeping out of the way of the crew as they did their duties. He walked over to her until she looked to him.

"Whose water is this? Whose been out here?" Tom asked her seeing that she was looking out of sorts. It took him a moment to remember that she was Army not Navy so she didn't understand what was going on. Only that they were trouble. She blinked at him for a moment and responded.

"This is disputed territory. There's three nations, several non-governmental actors currently vying for. Why are you turning off sonar if there are mines around?" She asked him, as she thought they would need sonar to see the mines which meant they were sitting in the dark.

"Long-range sonar's what set off that explosion. Kingfisher's lower power will still give us a picture of the minefield." Tom said as he moved to where Mejia and Cameron were standing. The men stepped back to let Tom in to see the screen for him.

"I've got Kingfisher on this screen, Sir." Cameron said.

"There's got to be dozens of them out there, Sir." Mejia added from behind Tom as he was assessing the situation.

"CIC had last count at 96, CNO." Cameron told him, Tom looked to the man as much as he hated sending the man down to CIC. He needed a more experienced TAO in the room than Lt Granderson as she was not trained in every aspect of CIC yet. Wright was still too green to be making judgement calls on what he saw on Kingfisher.

"Get down to CIC, I want a clearer picture of what's going on." Tom ordered him.

"Yes, Sir." Cameron said rushing out of the Bridge to take over CIC.

* * *

Kate sat on the lounge in the living room with the TV on low. Scout was conked out on a pillow she had tossed onto the floor for him. She was watching the news, so far there wasn't anything new. It was just recapping the videos of Miller and Diaz being beaten by bamboo sticks while Mike and the others knelt in the dirt. The news was tearing Michener to pieces over his secrecy, how ineffectual his administration was and that there was no signs of Michener doing anything for the hostages or their families. Kate made a face as Christina's face showed up on the screen. Her mascara running, her nose red and looking like a heartbroken wreck.

"Why is Mom on the TV?" Maddy asked, Kate nearly jumped out of her skin as she hadn't heard her come downstairs.

"They are talking about your father and your mother is letting everyone know how upset she is." Kate offered in a calm tone but she really wanted to throw the remote at the screen. The title under Christina on the screen calling her a grief stricken wife of Captain Slattery. She wasn't sad Mike was a hostage, she was glad to be in the spotlight, lord only knew how much she got paid to be in TV. "What are you doing up?" She asked as the news started a whole new story giving a brief history on Mike and his family.

"Couldn't sleep." Maddy said as she sat down on the lounge next to Kate.

"Same, would you like some honey milk?" she offered.

"No," Maddy said as she pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest. "Why are they showing our photos? I don't like it." Maddy added as she saw the screen of happy family photos.

"They are doing it for all of the sailors that were taken. I don't like it either," Kate said as she wrapped an arm around Maddy's shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We're not here to be the entertainment for others." she said as she turned her attention to the screen to see the story had changed to talk about the others. they weren't as heavily showcased as Mike but then Rios, Diaz, Jeter and Garnett didn't have many surviving family members. Mrs Miller was in Iowa and already seen as not interested in being in the news as she wanted her personal life to be her own. The media had tried to get her on camera but she told them to call her media liaison officer.

Kate was lucky as she had restraining orders against majority of the media outlets. They could approach her office and request an interview but they couldn't approach her on the streets or at her home. There were a few who thought themselves invincible like Jacob Barnes but he would so learn. So far he hadn't approached her, he only wrote about her, but as soon as she had evidence of harassment; his ass would be toast too.

"I miss Daddy." Maddy said as the news played the video clip of the sailors saying their names and serial numbers. "He looks really hurt." she added.

"He's just got bruises, they'll heal up and he'll be fine." Kate assured her.

"Do you think if he'll come home and stay with us if-"

"He'll come home but I don't know for how long. But he will come home." Kate said as she cut Maddy off as she could tell it was hard for Maddy to say what their worst fears were. Frankly she didn't need to hear the end of the conversation to know what Maddy was going to say.

"I want him to stay for good." Maddy told her, Kate couldn't help but smile at the less than subtle demand.

"I know," Kate said, she didn't want to say it but she wanted to Mike to stay home for good too. But she wasn't selfish enough to demand that of him as she knew what was signing up for when she married him. She knew that if their roles were reversed he'd not make her give up her career because of the dangers. But she was definitely going ask he stick around for the birth of their child as she didn't want him to miss that moment.

* * *

"As of 30 minutes ago, President Michener gave the order to begin the evacuation of all United States Naval forces from our Base in Uruma, Okinawa. What's left of the Pacific Fleet. Two ships is currently heading east, en route to their agreed position in Pearl Harbor." Samantha said as she addressed the press from the podium. Michener had dragged his feet on moving the vessels. He didn't want to seem like he was conceding to the enemy even with the Japanese Government ordering him to remove his vessels from the region.

"Efforts are currently being made to negotiate for the release of the hostages, both directly with the parties involved and through our allies in the region. The nature of these details must and will remain classified. The President asks for all Americans to maintain faith with their government in this time of crisis, while we keep our service people in our prayers and thoughts. Thank you." Samantha closed the folder and took a moment for herself before she looked at the reporters.. "I'm open for questions. Mr Barnes, let's get your crackpot questions out of the way before the real questions." she said in amusement as she picked the most antagonizing reporter of the bunch first.

Jacob's cheeks went red with embarrassment as he chuckled off the insult and looked at her. "How do we know this is the whole story when Michener's administration has been keeping information from the public ever since Chandler left for Asia?" he asked.

"No information has been withheld in regards to CNO Chandler and his visit to China." Samantha told him.

"Where are the press releases? there aren't any photos or press releases. Why aren't we being told what's really going on with the hostages?" Jacob asked.

"CNO forgot his hair and make up crew, hence no photos. I know it's very disappointing for all of us but we shall have to endure." Samantha said acerbically, many of the reporters smiled as they wrote down notes. "As for press releases, the President told you the talks were going very well. So we see no point in repeating ourselves. The Summit in Hong Kong is going well. Our main concern at the moment is securing the release of the Hostages. The need for confidentiality on the matters is not to keep the public in the dark or to be malicious but to preserve the safety of the hostages and the safety of our service people as they perform their duties. Now, I wouldn't be very good Military adviser if I handed over all our plans to those dastardly pirates via our own media now would it?" she asked them.

* * *

"She's mocking them." Allison said to Alex as they were watching the press conference in the command centre. Samantha had told them it wouldn't look good for so many bodies to be standing behind her. But Allison now saw it as a power play. Samantha was separating herself from Alex and Allison while bolstering Michener. She took the press in her stride in a way Michener hadn't. No question ruffled her and when she didn't want to answer a question she made a snarky comment about either herself or the reporter in a way that told them to leave it alone. It worked.

"They are lapping it up." Alex told Allison, he looked over his shoulder as Michener came into the room.

"She's still on air?" Michener asked in surprise.

"Yes, she hasn't fucked it up yet." Allison said bitterly as she wanted Samantha to fail, she didn't like being usurped and Samantha was getting in the way of Allison. She also didn't like that in less than 24 hours Michener was leaning more on Samantha than her. It didn't bode well for the future if Allison lost her sway with him.

"They seem to like her even Jacob Barnes." Michener said as he was still trying to get his legs for the press conferences. He didn't want to admit it but the confident man he'd been before the pandemic was gone. While he could do the job as President there were moments where he just couldn't handle the pressure or he was worried that he was mucking it up.

" _Then can you tell me why majority of the families of the hostages weren't informed immediately?_ " Jacob asked.

" _We worked as fast as could, we live in an imperfect world where things take time. Now are there any other questions or you all going to have Mr Barnes attempt to dissemble me? I feel like I'm getting a rough go when none of you have asked how I'm enjoying St Louis or my new appointment. Where's the love?_ " Samantha asked in a joking fashion with a smile. The reporters seemed to enjoy the light humor mixed in with what they needed for their stories as it made the press conference less formal and in a way made the hostage situation seem less dire and like the government had more control over the situation than they did. The confidence of Samantha and her willingness to interact help push home that they were confident that their rescue efforts.

" _Why isn't President Michener here to give this press release_?" Jacob asked being a pain in the ass as always.

" _He's currently working with our Allies in the region. He'll be back in the morning to do his usual morning briefing with you all._ " Samantha assured them.

" _Is he in contact with Japan right now? I heard rumors that there is a mutated strain of the virus? It that why Japan sold their debt markers to Lassiter Industries and the Japanese Government ordered our military vessels out of their waters? Are these two things related?_ " Jacob asked, Michener froze as he wondered how the hell Jacob had heard that information. Samantha wasn't ruffled and she gave nothing away as she looked in Jacob's direction.

" _I'm no scientist but I remember Dr Scott saying the virus could no mutate, so who ever your source is needs to do their homework or you do before getting people worried about nothing. As for Lassiter Industries, I can't speak on their behalf so I suggest you direct your questions to their Media Liaison Officer. As for Japan, they didn't order us to leave. They told us politely to leave as they didn't want any involvement with Hostage situation. You know the old saying 'Too many cooks...'. Now, I thank you for your time and we will keep you all posted when we have more information_." Samantha said smoothly as she brought the conference to a close and walked away. The press were still shouting questions at her and filming as she disappeared around a corner. A few seconds later she walked into the command room and closed the door.

* * *

"All done pirating for the day?" Mike asked Takehaya as he and the others had been helping the pirates unload their dingy boats of supplies for the past couple hours. Garnett had been absent for nearly half the day. It worried Mike but he kept it stowed as he knew he wouldn't get any answers in regards to Garnett's well being.

"Not quite." Takehaya replied as he'd been standing around talking to Toshiro and the others for a while before watching Mike and the others unload supplies. Given the amount of food and equipment coming in. Mike surmised they would be here awhile.

"What are you after this time? A shipment of men's suits? Lawn furniture?" Mike asked sarcastically, Takehaya's lips quirked into a small smile.

"No, not today. Today, we hunt a bigger prize; your ship." Takehaya said, he gestured over to a dingy boat where Toshiro was covering a Torpedo with a drop sheet. Mike turned to Takehaya who was looking rather smug. It meant that Tom was closer than he thought but also in a lot of danger.

"Don't do this." Mike pleaded in a low voice to the man. He knew Tom was looking for them and the Nathan James could deal with a Torpedo attack but he couldn't help but want to plead their case. "They are only looking for us by orders of our President."

"Your President is apparently negotiating for your release but it seems he hasn't called me yet. He also moved the ships too late so I guess I will have to decide who dies next." Takehaya told him.

"It's not like you listed your phone number in the video and if you kill another one of my people then you're another blood bank down." Mike argued.

"Good point, but then I have to make it clear that I'm not a man to be played with." Takehaya countered in a dark manner.

* * *

"I just heard from Beatty. The regional leadership committee is demanding a meeting." Allison said when she came back into the office. Samantha had been discussing the next moves for US military in general. She was vying for the other branches of the military to have advisors in St Louis as she felt that she couldn't speak for the Army and Air Force and they deserved their own Advisors to be on staff in the offices for Michener to confer with.

"Demanding?" Michener said as he looked up from the paperwork Samantha had placed in front of him. It was outlining what the Government needed to do in order to rebuild the military and their resources. It was something Michener had been ignoring for whatever bullshit Allison and Alex felt was more important. Of course, Samantha knew certain things trumped her wants for the Military but she didn't want to wait for a 'better' time to show up to plead her case.

"Half of them are in town already. The rest are on their way. We're gonna have to level with them about Asia, bring them into the fold." Allison informed them.

"No way, this is above their security clearance and it will only complicate matters." Samantha argued as she leaned back in her chair and looked to Allison. She knew the woman had orchestrated it. How she knew because Allison came from one of the regions and she hadn't missed the trend of her favoring the regional leaders wants over the general population when it came to her agenda.

"I'm afraid Allison's right. Like it or not, they're our partners, and they speak for millions in their territories. Their support is crucial, now more than ever if we want to keep the peace." Michener said to Samantha.

"Install Martial Law to the regions that can't keep their shit together-" Samantha started but Allison cut her off.

"That will remind people of what happened in the Pandemic. It won't go over well." Allison told her.

"The people are rioting over bullshit issues that have nothing to do with Asia or the hostages. Frankly it's two separate issues. The hostage situation has nothing to do with the US civilians or Regional leaders. What the CNO and the Nathan James do isn't relevant to them. So they do not need to be read in as it doesn't affect their jobs and this meeting is a waste of time." Samantha said.

"You have no understanding-" Allison started but this time Samantha cut her off with glee.

"Oh, I do. The Regional leaders are coming here to bitch to Michener hoping he will weaken on his stances on the less popular laws he's instituted since coming into power. What I'm saying as a Military Advisor is that it is none of the Regional Leader's concerns what the Nathan James is doing. It's international and their powers are limited to national. Thus useless and wasting our time." Samantha informed her, she couldn't help but inwardly smile as Allison went slightly pink in the face from anger as Samantha was basically cutting the legs out from under her.

"Their powers are limited but Michener needs the support of his leaders to continue in this office. It's politics." Allison told her.

"It's bickering of small minded and petty people that reaps no real productive results. Thus a waste of time." Samantha told her in a tone that said she would not argue it further.

"It might be but I can't ignore them." Michener said with a sigh as he knew like a lot of things about being President. He didn't always have a choice.

* * *

Jed walked into the lounge room and couldn't help but smile as Rachel passed out on the lounge with one arm slung around her eyes and the other gently over the legs of Evie. Olivia was in the playpen gurgling and cooing, he crept over to her and lifted her out of the playpen and smiled at her as she looked up at him. He loved holding babies, they made him feel younger than he was and needed even when they were just placid like Olivia was.

He also liked that their needs were simple; they wanted food, to be clean and held. Most importantly loved which was easy. He also loved watching them go through the changes as they learned their surroundings, marveling when they realized they had hands and feet. The things they took for granted. He knew he had maybe a couple decades in him if he continued on his health kick so he'd be around for a while. Long enough to enjoy being around the kids and repair what was left of his relationship with Sasha and Tom. Heal their family.

Not that he put pressure on it but it would be nice to see his daughter again. He walked with Olivia in his arms to the kitchen and went to getting himself a hot milk so he could get a few more hours of kip before the older kids got up for breakfast. He was incredibly grateful for an electric stove as he could turn it on one handed.

"So Miss Olivia, what are you doing awake hmm?" he asked her. Olivia just looked up at him and gave tiny baby gurgling noises and half a smile appeared on her face before she farted which made Jed chuckle. "Just like your father." he told her, as Tom had been one gassy baby and all his smiles were just precursors to farting which he remembered being hilarious until he had to change the diaper but that was just part of the deal with parenthood. Luckily as Grandfather; diaper duty was optional and even luckier for him now that Olivia wasn't in need of a diaper change yet.

* * *

"Sets of three, and they're very close, sir. Sir, I've calculated every available path for us, sir. We're surrounded. There's no way out." Mejia told Tom,

"You only put up a wall if you're trying to protect something. That means we're close. How are the divers going?" Tom asked as he looked at the screen that showed the Nathan James' position and the position of the mines. He couldn't believe that they had sailed right into the middle of a minefield to the point they were completely surrounded. It was pure dumb luck they hadn't set off more than one mine at the moment.

"They've just reached their mines." Sasha said as she stood at another screen watching the camera feeds of the divers in the water. It was a shame they didn't have enough certified divers on board as they had to send the men out solo to designated mines to see what they were up against. Wolf was the first to reach his as it had been one of the ones closest to the ship.

" _We've got a banana split here. Block contact activated. Block magnetically activated. Still trying to get a handle on the third one."_ Wolf said as he described what he was seeing and his opinion as this was his field of expertise given he was a E.O.D. diver. He sidled up to the last one in the three mines chained to one another. Tom moved to the screens to get a look and picked up the radio designated for communicating with the divers.

"Everyone else seeing the same thing?" Tom asked, the other divers acknowledged that they were seeing the same which he hoped would make this easier. It didn't help narrow down the manufacturer of the mines or how to disarm them.

"Wolf, is there any writing on it? A manufacturers' number? Anything?" Sasha asked him as she had her own radio to communicate with them as they were using one channel to link CIC and Bridge to the divers.

" _Negative so far. I've never seen a mine like this before. I have it at one meter in diameter, steel casing, painted._ _"_ Wolf replied.

"Look at the tether attachment. Sometimes the bolt heads are stamped." Sasha told him, Tom couldn't help but be impressed by Sasha's knowledge given she was Army and shouldn't know much about anything related to the navel warfare.

" _Yeah, got something. It looks like it's Lassiter Industries Logo."_ Wolf commented as his camera showed the stamped bolt. It was indeed the symbol for Lassiter Industries. Tom would've been pissed at seeing and American mine in Asian waters but remembered that Lassiter Industries was no longer in the weapons race. These mines could've been picked up from America when the world fell apart and brought here. It also helped them as it would be in their database.

"Burk, focus on Lassiter Industries database in our system." Tom said over the radio, needing to say it even though he knew Burk was on it.

" _Checking reference based on physical descriptors and the stamp. Stand by_." Burk replied over the radio.

" _And what looks like a vent hole on the center of a steel box at the bottom. Vent's screened off. I can't see in there too well. There's some kind of homemade contraption in there."_ Wolf continued in his inspection of the mine.

"Anything, Burk?" Tom asked.

" _Yeah, but it's not much and it looks like it's been modified from the original design_." Burk said, which meant whatever was written in their database to disarm the mine would not work.

"Sir, we're drifting. Suggest we start our starboard engine and run slow... two degrees right rudder, one minute every five to counteract." Granderson said from the navigation station with Mejia at her side. Tom gave a nod and looked to the helmsman.

"Helm, ahead 1/3 for two knots as necessary to maintain position. Muffle starboard and proceed." Tom ordered.

"Aye, Sir." Helmsman replied. Tom took a moment as he thought through their next moves. They couldn't sit in the middle of the minefield forever. They had to start moving while they had daylight to work with. It was do or die, so they needed to get to work. Tom just hated this part of any mission where he couldn't be out in the thick of it. Being at the back making decisions that could lead to the deaths of good people was never easy when it came to being a Captain. He knew the day it did become an easy choice was the day he'd retire and walk away.

"All right. Listen up, gentlemen. Looks like we're gonna have to start sweeping with just the information we got. Stay as clear as you can from the third mine in each series. I need you to cut the chains to the bottom in a narrow avenue ahead of the ship, then you are going to gently move each group out of the way, one by one. Are you all ready?" Tom asked them.

" _Aye, Sir._ " Wolf and the others responded.

"All right, mine-group seven, that's you, Kudelski. Start now." Tom ordered to the man.

" _Kudelski, Aye. Commencing cutting 12 lengths beneath the mine._ " Kudelski said, Tom looked to the man's video feed and watched as he went ahead and cut the chain on the first mine in the group.

" _Captain, we need to belay that order. There's something about this third mine. There's some kind of electrical coiling in it._ " Wolf said,

"Kudelski, stand fast." Tom ordered but it was too late as the chain was cut.

" _Chain's free, Captain. It's all good. I may need a hand from another diver to move these guys. They're pretty heavy._ " Kudelski said, Tom looked at the screen feeling a tight knot form between his shoulders as Kudelski ignored his order. He was about tell Kudelski to stand down again when Burk's voice came over the radio.

"Kudelski, did you hear the Captain's order to belay?" Burk demanded.

"It's moving, sir." Kudelski said as he slowly pushed the first mine away from the others.

"Kudelski." Burk demanded, but Kudelski wasn't listening which peeved Tom to no end as his word was supposed to law and while he could admire initiative. Showing it now was not the best time to do so.

" _Sir._ " Kudelski's voice garbled with interference over the radio. " _The mine he-... It's beginn- t-ibrate_." The rest came out garbled and then the feed on his camera snapped to black as an explosion sounded.

"Everyone out of the water now!" Tom ordered over the radio, once they ascertained none of the other mines were going to be set off. Then he'd send out a retrieval team for Kudelski but right now they needed to regroup.

* * *

 _"We'll get to see Alex today." Mike said to Kate as he held her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Kate looked at her burgeoning stomach and smiled as it was only a few more weeks and Mike was here. He was wearing Army Desert BDU's which looked damn fine on him._

 _"Alex? I don't remember agreeing to that name." Kate said teasingly, as she laid on the bed in the medical imaging place. They were waiting for the ultrasound technician to come into the room._

 _"It suits boy or girl." Mike argued, she felt like they'd spent way too many hours discussing names with no luck but Kate was in the mind of waiting until she held the baby in her arms and deciding then. Mike however wanted everything to be decided on in a timely manner that was helpful but also could get a little full on and stressful. She didn't want to ever revisit the nursery theme debacle ever again._

 _"I want to wait, just make a list and on the day we'll pick from that." Kate said as she smiled at him._

 _"It'll grow on you. I like Alex better than Amelia." He said, seemingly obsessed with names starting with 'A' or maybe he was hoping by the time he reached the middle of the alphabet she'd cave and pick a name just to stop him._

 _"Mmm not sure Amelia would work for a boy." Kate replied, Mike leaned over her and gave her a warm and slow kiss that made her melt. When he pulled back the door opened and Kate sat up in the bed with wide eyes as Milowsky strode in dressed in hospital scrubs holding a file looking incredibly bored and rushed._

 _"Ok, let's see what we got here." He said as he moved to the ultrasound machine, he pulled up a chair and sat down. Kate looked to Mike who didn't seem to notice the man at the ultrasound machine._

 _"Ah, what are you doing?" Kate asked Milowsky, the man gave her an amused smile._

 _"Pregnancy Brain always does a number. We're going to see your baby Mrs Slattery, so just relax back onto the bed and we'll get to it." Milowsky told her, Kate felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Mike pushing her down onto the bed she looked back to Milowsky and saw him coming at her with a scalpel. She tried to kick out at him but found her arms and legs were restrained, gone was the imagining centre room and she found herself back in the lab in Baltimore. She was paralysed by fear as she watched in horror as Milowsky sliced a line down the middle of her abdomen. She tried to scream to tell him to stay the hell away from her baby but no noise came out as Milowsky's hands reached into her abdomen, she could feel his hands inside her abdominal cavity-_

Kate jerked awake on the couch, the dream felt so real it took her a moment to realise that she was awake and this was real not the dream. But it didn't stop her from feeling her stomach over. Of course the baby bump was non existent compared to how large it had been in her dream. But it had felt so real, she pressed a hand to her mouth and choked on a sob as tears ran down her face as the fear was still coursing through her.

She took a moment, just letting the emotions run through her before she took a deep breath and focused on her surroundings. She wiped away the tears from her face and kept her breathing slow and steady as she remembered falling asleep on the couch after Maddy went back to bed. The news wasn't showing anything she hadn't seen before, so she turned it off and turned her attention to Scout who was making the cutest little snuffling noises as he slept on the floor. She was half tempted to wake him up so he could distract her but she stopped herself as it was wrong. The puppy needed to sleep.

She looked to the clock on the wall noting it was barely 2am, she knew in that moment she could not go back to sleep. The dream was so real to her she was afraid if she closed her eyes she would be back in that same dream and she didn't want to know the end of it. So she picked up the remote resigned to anything but the news as she turned the TV on and channel flicked until she found a channel that was showing reruns of Star Trek Next Generation. She settled in, hoping the show would banish the dream and keep her mind occupied enough to not dwell on it.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

* * *

"High fever. Jaundice." Rios said listing off symptoms as he looked over the poor woman. Takehaya had pulled Mike and Rios out of the hut to another run down shack. Mike wasn't sure what to expect but an incredibly ill pregnant woman was not it. He'd expected to be shown wreckage of the Nathan James and Rios to treat Takehaya's wounded as Mike knew the Nathan James wouldn't go down without a fight. One torpedo was enough to damage the ship and sink it, if it hit the right place. But given they hadn't heard any cheering, there was no news on that front and this was something else.

"She has red flu, but the blood is not working." Takehaya told him as he knelt down by her side and took her hand into his own. Mike didn't need to be a genius to know this pregnant woman meant something to Takehaya. He could see Takehaya was showing them something he didn't want them to know. He wasn't ashamed but Mike knew this woman was a soft spot for him which made her very valuable.

"Her pulse is elevated. She may have the red flu, but she also has malaria. That's what's causing all this." Rios told Takehaya.

Are you sure?" Takehaya asked, deeply concerned for the woman on the cot.

She has all the symptoms. I don't need to tell you about all the mosquitos out there." Rios said to him.

What do we need?" Takehaya asked as he reached under the bed and pulled out a med kit. He passed it quickly to Rios with an expression of helplessness and hope on his face as it was clear he was beside himself with worry and needed her to be ok. Mike narrowed his eyes as he realized what the expression was. It was one he'd worn himself.

"She's your wife." Mike stated.

* * *

"Did you see that? After the explosion?" Wolf asked as they were reviewing the footage captured on the divers' cams in the CIC. Tom had greeted them when they got out of the water. It was something Wolf had mentioned then but emotions had been running high and fast as Kudelski had perished. There was nothing left of him for them to retrieve from the water to give the man a proper burial. There wasn't anything left of the detonated mines either for them to study so they were back in CIC, now changed in BDU's and a lot calmer.

"The mines dropped their anchoring chains." Danny remarked as all the feeds showed the same thing. They hadn't bothered to put up Kudelski's as they knew what happened with him.

"All of them?" Sasha asked as she stood with Tom, Burk, Wolf, Danny, Cruz and Lt Commander Burk watching the screens.

"That means they're sensing something." Danny said.

"Blast must've triggered them, huh?" Cruz asked.

"Well, we should be able to push them out the way then, right? They're floating free." Danny said looking to Wolf as it was his area of expertise not theirs.

"I don't know. I just know I don't like it." Wolf said thoughtfully as he wasn't ready to make any assumptions as he couldn't make heads or tails of the modified mine. What they had in the ship's database wasn't enough information to help them as it was clear they were dealing with a different monster.

"I don't think we can. I think Kudelski pushing the mine triggered it to blow." Sasha commented. The men turned and looked at her as if she'd just insulted the dead man. "All I'm saying is there must be a pressure or movement trigger switch in that modified box on the mine." she added.

"Doesn't explain how the others dropped their chains." Danny said to her as they all turned back to the screens.

"Something else must have trigged the chain drop. It certainly wasn't the blast otherwise we wouldn't still be here." Wolf said,

"That coil there. Maybe it's the sensor look at that there, behind the coil." Burk pointed to screen as he decided to take up on Sasha's theory. "Is that moving? If it is, it could be a motor." Burk added.

"Is that even possible?" Danny asked.

"I've seen hundreds of mines. Never anything like that before." Wolf commented.

"It's an improvised weapon. Anything's possible." Tom said before he turned to look in ASW Wright's direction. "Sonar, you getting any kind of low hum?" Tom asked him, he watched as the young man turned to his station and listened on his headphones for the noise. Tom couldn't help but wish they had Mason or his predecessor as they needed someone with more experience under their belt. He hated usurping the junior crew with senior members.

"I got something. Very faint, sir. I thought it was the echo off the coral of our gear, but..." Wright drawled off unsure which didn't instill a lot of confidence in Tom given this was fairly important but he understood the kid was doing his best.

"XO, take a listen." Tom said to Lt Commander Burk as he knew the man had experience with Sonar. The man nodded and walked over to the station and picked up a headset,

"It's barely audible." Lt Commander Burk said agreeing with ASW Wright but sounding more confident in his delivery of information. "It could it be the hum of a small motor and it's getting louder" he added looking to Tom with concern.

"Where's it coming from?" Tom asked him needing more information.

"It's coming from all around us, from all directions. I'd say the mines are coming right at us." Lt Commander Burk added.

"How could they know we're here?" Tom asked as it didn't make any sense.

"They could be radio controlled. If they were magnetic they'd be moving towards anything metal including other mines." Wolf speculated as he felt it would be rather redundant for the mine to able to move and crash into one another instead of their intended target.

"If there's a signal then we can track it." Tom stated.

* * *

"You don't know Kate at all." Mike said, Rios sat quietly by Takehaya's wife's bedside checking her pulse as he'd given her antibiotics and hooked up an IV bag of fluids to see if they could improve her condition. Mike and Rios knew how important it was to keep the woman and her unborn child alive. But Rios only had limited supplies and the woman's condition was fairly precarious.

"No, I do not." Takehaya admitted, Mike gave a nod as it made sense. Any man with a wife in this state would move heaven and earth to get her help. If Takehaya had known Kate then he would've called her months ago. She was not one to ignore a friend in need. at least now Mike could stop racking his brain over how the two knew one another and how to possibly exploit that friendship to try and find middle ground for him to negotiate their release.

"If you had, you'd have contacted her directly to ask for help." Mike said, he could see the man's pride was in the way on that matter. "If you contacted her now, she'd help you by medi-vacing your wife to a hospital to get her the medical care she needs." he added.

"In exchange for you?" Takehaya asked him with a wry smile.

"No, you let her do it as good faith to her that you won't kill any of my people. Your problem is with the US government. Your wife, your unborn child and Kate are outside of that. She would want to help in anyway she can." Mike said to him, he wished he could tell if he was getting through to Takehaya as the man's features were so closed off. It was hard to read what he was thinking most of the time and now it was impossible as all he could see is his concern for his wife.

"Do you believe me a fool Captain?" Takehaya asked him.

"I would if you allowed pride to get in the way of saving your wife and child. You must have ways of contacting Lassiter Industries without them tracking you. She'd help you to help me. You might have a plan set in motion but I have feeling you were banking on our blood to fix her. It's not going to, what you need is someone with money and pull to come on board and help you. Our blood is not a long term solution, you have to see that." Mike told him.

"You do not know that and I've survived this long on the blood of your people." Takehaya told him, but it was clear he'd taken Mike's words to heart as he didn't refute them outright or throw threats at him either. It had to be a good sign.

"You know, all I want is to get out of this alive with my people. You have the same goal of staying alive as well as whatever your other goals are. So let me at least give you a phone number to call." Mike told him, he hated bringing Kate into it but she had the means to temper the situation without more people being hurt. He also knew that Kate would have people working on the mutation and how to defeat it given Anna's strong ties to Japan and it's people.

"You'd do this even though I will destroy your ship?" Takehaya asked him.

"You can try to sink the Nathan James but it won't happen. I'm not interested in being your blood bag for the rest of my life. I have kids, a wife and a home to get to. You have a baby on the way, wouldn't you rather give him both of his parents a chance to survive?" Mike asked him.

* * *

"Good to see you, Senator." Michener said as he welcomed each of the regional leaders into the room, it was just past 5am and they were all tired but Michener had made sure breakfast pastries and coffee were all on the table and ready to go as he wanted this meeting out of the way.

"Manuel, welcome." Michener said as he shook hands with Castillo when he walked in.

"Thank you, Mr. President." Castillo said as he took a seat at the table with the Senator.

"Al, Roberta, Randall, sit down. Please, sit down." he said gesturing to the table. He waited for everyone to take a seat before he took his own. The coffee was poured into cups but no one touched the food but then they weren't here for social reasons.

Samantha had spent the last half an hour prepping Michener on what he could and couldn't say. She felt that being openly honest was all well and good but they needed to keep a small group to maintain confidentiality and that if there was a leak it'd be easier for them to find it if it was only a small circle. Allison had been insulted by the insinuations that there could be a leak and that the regional leaders couldn't be trusted. But he knew he couldn't please everyone, he preferred to have some honesty with the regional leaders as they were all codependent on one another and what was happening in Asia was affecting the public.

"Thanks for taking the time, Mr. President. I know it's not been easy." Roberta said her Texan twang made her comment sound more syrupy and warm than her demeanour showed. she like the others walked in like they owned the room and him, he could tell he was in for a fight.

"Well, I appreciate you making the trip here. Where is Mrs Miller?" he asked.

"Iowa has become unstable, she had to stay to get her backyard in order." Wilson told him.

"Ok, well obviously, we have a lot to discuss, so I think we should just jump in." Michener told them.

"Yes, what is happening with the hostage situation?" Castillo asked not bothering to wait for Michener to begin the discussion.

"We're still working on a resolution to the situation but it's going to take time." Michener said.

"How?" Al asked looking at Michener expecting him to tell the table everything he knew but the more they looked at him with a sense of entitlement the more he didn't want to tell them. He felt no matter what he said would only garner negative criticism from people like himself that didn't understand the delicacies of the situation.

"I'm not going to get into the details as it's an ongoing military operation." Michener told him flat out, the regional leaders all shifted slightly in their chairs as they couldn't believe Michener wasn't sharing but in their defense he'd shared in the past so this was new for them all.

"Oh so we're no longer allowed to know such information anymore?" Roberta said in a mocking yet annoyed tone as she narrowed her eyes at Michener.

"No, you're not. It's a delicate situation and I agree with my Senior Military Advisor Colonel Nash that the details of that operation need to be kept to a small circle. That and it's not relevant to how any of your run your territories. So you need to show faith that we're doing our best and do your jobs." Michener said.

"We are not the press, we don't need a sound bite." Castillo told him.

"Does Colonel Nash not understand what is happening in our regions? The people are in uproar over this." Al asked.

"And they hate being kept in the dark." Roberta added.

"I think they can appreciate that we're doing our best and you all need to understand that the hostage situation does not reflect onto the running of this country." Michener told her, he couldn't help but like the man he was projected as he felt like the adult while the regional leaders became squabbling children in his view but instead of feeling flustered as he normally did, he felt strong.

"It is if we go to war with Asia." Castillo pointed out.

"We're not going to declare war on anyone. We will recover the hostages and remove our presence from the Asian theatre."

"Leaving to be taken over by Peng." Roberta said in distaste.

"Our presence there was to ensure the cure was being distributed and quelling the virus. We do not have the time or man power to engage into their politics or peace keeping duties. I wish we could but someone reminded me that we need to take care of our own backyard before we jump into someone else's. So with that in mind, I'd prefer we pull back and focus on America. We just needed to get the cure out there, that will be complete in three months and we're out of there. So what is the issue here?" he asked them.

* * *

"I can't tell how fast they're moving." Sasha said as she looked at the screen that had the view of the mines around the ship. She could feel the tension on the bridge as it was eerily quiet and most of them were stationary with no real active duties to perform. So they were just waiting which a horrible experience knowing there were mines slowly moving towards them. they'd tried to find a radio signal to explain how the mines avoided one another and gravitated to the ship but it was assumed to be such a low frequency that it couldn't be found as CIC was coming up empty.

"Lucky for us, the motors are very small and the mines are very large, and we're 1/4 mile from the closest one." Granderson said to her in a low voice as she looked out the front window, it was such a beautiful sunny day and yet so deceiving as the situation was anything but sunny.

"Well, how soon till the first one closes in on us?" Sasha asked out of morbid curiosity.

"XO estimates approximately 44 minutes, with the next wave a few minutes later... if we're still here." Granderson said in a rather resigned manner that didn't instill a lot of confidence into Sasha. She had to admit with an attitude like that Sasha was glad the woman wasn't XO as she would have brought down whatever was left of morale in a swift second.

"Has anyone talked about evacuating the ship while we still have time?" Sasha asked her in a low voice, she was Army so didn't understand the protocol of the situation. She knew that when there were landmines one usually moved out of that space as quickly as possible until a team came to clear it. But this wasn't the same.

"We canvassed the crew. No one's leaving." Granderson told her in a blunt manner that made Sasha feel slightly defensive given she felt like she'd just slapped the woman when she'd just asked an honest question. But before Sasha could address it the phone on the back wall rang and Granderson moved to answer it. She spoke on the phone a few more seconds and acknowledge the call before hanging up. She looked to Sasha pointedly. "Captain wants you in the Helo bay." she told him.

"Thank you." Sasha said, she walked off the bridge and breathed a sigh of relief as she realized she should have left the bridge sooner. It was obvious Lt Granderson had a real issue with her and most likely Lt Commander Burk as she hadn't missed the tension between the two. She didn't really understand why she was on the receiving end of Granderson's attitude. But part of her figured that people resented her as she was outside the chain of command and because she and tom didn't exactly have the most copacetic sibling relationship either.

* * *

Val watched as her computers crunched the information of noisy channel, her eyes were sore and blood shot, she was jittery from the caffeine and sugar but it was totally worth it. She also had to admit she owed some respect to Dennis and his simple mind as she had been looking for zebras when all they had were horses. He'd designed a program and sent it to her that turned the noise into a voice that But now they had over three months worth of random words. It didn't make any sense and she was trying to figure out how three random words made a code or even a message but nothing was coming to her mind and the algorithms she was running weren't helping either as it hadn't found any sort of pattern yet.

She pushed back from her computer and walked into the kitchen to grab another can of Red Bull from the fridge when she spotted the vehicles pulling up in the driveway.

"Shit" She said as she couldn't help but feel her sense of self preservation kick in as that was a lot of Chinese men in suits piling out of the car and running into her apartment building. She dropped the can of red bull and raced to her computer. she'd seen enough movies to know the hacker was about to get caught. Damned if she was going to be caught red handed. She raced to her computer and quickly cut and pasted the bulk of the three word code system she had thanks to Dennis' program and emailed it to several servers. Once it was sent she disconnected her laptop and used her main computer she used to link up her server systems to activate a virus to trash the hardrives and disconnect the Valkyrie network.

She raced for her bag and stuffed the laptop in it and looked at her mobile phone wondering if it was worth it and decided against it as she could be traced by it. With that she threw her bag over her shoulder and raced out the front door and headed up the fire escape. She could hear the footsteps of the men as they raced up the stairs to her floor but she already knew they'd block all of her exits except one.

* * *

"You'll be with Jesse on the helo. Gator's gonna chart the coordinates, you and Lieutenant Green will cover the lookouts." Tom told Sasha as they walked out of the Helo bay. The ship was a flurry of activity as orders came down the line of the new plan to try and get the ship out of the minefield preferably unscathed. The Helo was already on the flight deck with Jesse doing her rounds and making sure everything was in order. Sasha had been watching Jesse as Tom spoke to her but she hadn't expected him to be ordering onto the Helo.

"You're putting me out of harm's way." Sasha stated as it was pretty obvious he was protecting her by getting her off the ship on the Helo. She didn't know whether to be annoyed at him or touched that he cared so much. It was still a little hard to remember they were fixing their sibling relationship.

"We don't come out of this, get to Okinawa any way you can. Convince the President to send our other ships, find our people. Bring them back." Tom told her, Sasha nodded as understood the other side to getting off the ship. She was probably the only person with the most knowledge of what was going on in the Asian theatre, she knew the cultures, the languages and more importantly the politics. Tom stopped at the railing and looked down to where the RHIB was and turned his attention to Danny, Cruz and Wolf. "Green! You're lookout on the helo!" he shouted down at the man.

"What?" Danny asked confused as it wasn't what they'd agreed on but what he didn't know was that Wolf and Cruz had asked for Danny to be taken off the RHIB because of the danger. The fact Danny had a son he'd yet to meet was one of the strong factors Tom agreed to put him in the Helo. To not only keep him safe but because if this effort failed, then Sasha needed someone qualified to watch her back and help get her stateside.

"That's a two-man job! Lookout, helo, now!" Tom told Danny in blunt and sharp tone so the man knew it was an order and he wasn't going to discuss it. He gave the man a no-nonsense look which worked in under a second as Danny handed whatever task he was doing into Wolf's hands before heading towards the stairs to meet them on the flight deck. He turned back to Sasha who waited for him to continue what they were discussing beforehand.

"I'll need you to gear up as if you're preparing to not come back." Tom told her.

"Ok, anything else?" she asked.

"Yeah, there is." Tom paused and Sasha quirked an eyebrow waiting for him to say something when he gave her a curious look. "How did you survive all those months in China during the Pandemic?" he asked.

"I was in Prison." Sasha said, Tom blinked as he wasn't sure he heard her right and she gave him a smile that made him wonder if she was telling him the truth or not but before he could ask the P.A. activated calling him to the bridge.

"We're going to talk about that." Tom said in a serious manner as he felt like he should have asked earlier.

"Yeah, is about half past never good for you?" she asked wryly before Tom turned on his feet and walked away from her.

* * *

"You know what I can't get out of my head." Garnett said to Mike as they were sitting at the dingy table eating their lunch/dinner of steak, apricots and leafy greens. Takehaya usually forced Mike to eat with him but today he was with his wife. So Mike had the 'luxury' of being with the others.

"What?" Mike asked before he took a sip of water to down the mouthful of steak.

"You buying a dog for your daughters and Kate. I remember you saying that your kids were animals enough that you didn't need a pet." Garnett said with a smile. It was fairly common knowledge on the ship that Mike had was not an animal lover, so he didn't mind the friendly ribbing. Even if they were in a crappy situation. Only humour and hope would get them through.

"The dog is more for them not me. Kids wanted a pet; Christina wanted to get a cat. I hate cats." Mike told her, the men at the table were keeping their opinions to themselves as they were eating what they could to refuel their systems.

"Can't say I blame you." Garnett said as she was allergic to cats which was why she wasn't a fan of them. But thinking of a cute puppy playing around and tearing up Mike's place and chewing up his shoes seemed to cheer her up for some strange reason. But then she did give him some unwanted input on the idea. It was hard for to not but in when he was looking at pictures of the puppies from the litter on his phone before they had a debriefing.

"Tom told me it went over well with Kate and the girls. So I'd say I won't be sleeping on the couch for coming home late. When we all eventually get home." Mike joked at which Garnett smiled, he too couldn't help a small smile as he couldn't wait for that day.

* * *

Val cursed as her hands and well majority of her body was killing her. She had scrapped the crap out of her palms and had gravel burn because she was a moron. A moron who was alive and knew that TV stunts should have been left to TV Land. One; because it was completely insane to jump off a building onto another and two; she really needed more than 4 weeks of training to really do that kind crazy acrobatics. But she was alive and free of the men trying to chase her for now.

It was why she'd headed straight for the one place she felt safe; the mall which was rather ironic given it had been a safe zone during the pandemic. It was now an open space that was open for long hours, served food and drinks. Most importantly free wi-fi so that she could connect remotely into server farms and try to find a way to contact Kate and Dennis to let them know that someone was onto her and it had something to do with codes that were jamming up the radio channels.

The only problem with the mall was that it didn't open until 10am but there were cafes that were open with free wifi near the bus depots. So she'd hide there and wait until the food court was open to get back to work.

* * *

"You just the regional leaders walk all over you." Samantha told Michener in disgust as she followed him into his office. Allison and the Regional leaders had left the briefing room looking like cats that got the cream.

"I can't have the regional leaders secede their territories and become independent republics. I had to make a choice and I chose to keep America a whole country." Michener told her in a tone that said she didn't understand the complexities of his decision. Something she found patronising as he'd just made a huge mistake and wouldn't even acknowledge the ramifications of it.

"You realise that the rioting won't stop, it will only become worse. The fact you federalised the police forces-" Samantha started argue but Michener cut her off.

"It will balance out. I know it undermines the Military but I did it to preserve the mission to save the hostages. The regional leaders have backed off and I know it will go a long way to ease tensions and give me latitude to do my job." Michener promised her.

* * *

"Geezus, you packing for a holiday?" Jesse asked Sasha as she helped her strap the bag that was filled with clothes and weaponry to the floor of the Helo to stop it from rolling around as they knew the nixie hitting mines was going to shake the Helo much like turbulence and create a drag on the fuel and their speed.

"More like just in case. Tom doesn't want to be too optimistic." Sasha said in a low voice. Jesse gave her a sceptical look.

"Or you're not being optimistic and this is your way of cut and running." Jesse told her.

"It's not like that at all." Sasha assured her.

"What are your plans after the hostages are saved and your brother no longer needs you?" Jesse asked her out of curiosity.

"I don't know, I'm just here to help Tom recover the hostages and finish Peng after that I was thinking of going back to the States." Sasha said with a sigh, Jesse didn't miss that Sasha said 'States' not 'home' but left it alone as she felt in that regard they were kindred spirits. Two tumble weeds rolling around aimlessly with no real direction or place to settle in. But there was one difference in that Sasha had family where Jesse was truly alone. She had her business acquaintances but they were not friends and definitely not family.

"Do you even know what you'll do?" Jesse asked her.

"Nope, but hey maybe you should think about joining me. The world always needs pilots." Sasha said, she wasn't going to get her hopes up but figured she'd put the thoughts out there for Jesse to ponder on.

"Not American." Jesse reminded her.

"I think they'd overlook it." Sasha assured her as Jesse skills were needed everywhere no matter her nationality. Not that they'd ever discussed this because before they'd talk in the short term from one mission to the next which made this different.

"So what? we'd get an apartment together and be roommates?" Jesse asked her.

"And friends." Sasha added as it was something they were trying to be. Jesse moved to the backseat of the helo and sat in it. She gave Sasha a long and thoughtful look for a moment before she spoke.

"What if say hypothetically I wanted to be more than friends in the future. Is that something that'd be on the table?" Jesse asked her. They shared a look because even if they were speaking hypothetically that didn't mean the answer wasn't important.

"Hey, you guys done? we need to get this bird in the air." Danny said impatiently as he broke the moment between them. Not even giving Sasha a chance to answer Jesse's question as Jesse turned to Danny and gave him a glare.

"This bird?" she asked in an annoyed manner, "You mean my Helo and piloting skills you're using to save your asses, right?" she asked him.

"Ah yeah." Danny said looking lose as to what he did to piss her off.

"Ah yeah," Jesse mimicked. "Well it'll be up in 5 minutes like I told your Captain and the thirty other people I had to speak to. For the Military you have way too many redundant jobs going around an all of them seemed to be directed at being a pain in my ass." Jesse told him as she walked away, Sasha couldn't help but smile as she knew it was half an act and Danny looked completely perplexed.

"You shouldn't push her, Jesse runs to her own schedule." Sasha told Danny so they he could one; learn how to handle himself around Jesse and two; to build a report with him as she felt like she was on the outside of a very big bubble when it came to being on the ship. That and given she was being used for tactical mission on land, she wanted to know the people who were supposed to have her back.

"She does know about the mines right?" Danny asked her.

"Yes, she does." Jesse replied drily as she returned to where they were with Mejia in tow. The man was wearing an TAC vest and carrying maps with a pen looking very pale and nervous.

"You ok Mejia?" Sasha asked the man.

"Yeah, there's a reason I chose the Navy over the air force." Mejia told her, Sasha couldn't help but give him a sympathetic smile.

"Well, if you're going to chunder do out the side of the Helo." Jesse advised him, she then gestured to the Helo "Pile in kids." she told them.

* * *

"How can you snore so loudly? You're so small." Kate whispered quietly to Scout as she was laying on the lounge looking to Scout who was on the floor. He was laying on the floor making soft snoring noises. But given it was early morning and the house was quiet, his snores sounded louder than they normally did. Maybe it was the lack of sleep making her notice the noise as being louder than it was.

Either way she was half tempted to see if she could roll him onto his stomach without waking him up. Maybe the change in body position would quieten the snores, it worked on Mike but then he only snored when he drank or had a cold. She did smile at that as she was now drawing connection between a dog and the love of her life. This couldn't be healthy, but it was amusing as she slowly reached down and was about to touch Scout's paw to to move it when Scout sneezed. She froze with her hand out and waited for the pup to wake up but instead he made a squeaky noise followed by a snuffle as he rolled onto his back.

Kate pulled her hand back and looked at Scout as he stuck his legs up in the air as if stretching before letting them drop away. She waited for a few breaths to pass but instead of being blissfully quiet the snoring started up. She gave a smile and was about to roll onto her back when someone knocked on the front door. Scout snapped awake at the noise just as she did as it was too early for visitors. He got to his feet and wriggled out his little body shaking away the fatigue as he gave a happy bark and ran for the door.

"Scout, quiet." Kate said as they didn't need to wake the whole house but Scout hadn't learnt that command as he kept barking until he reached the door. He then sniffed at the bottom of the door, his tail wagging. Kate picked him up off the floor and looked through the peephole before she opened the door.

"Is there a problem?" she asked the police officers who stood on her doorstep. The officers looked to her wearing displeased expressions, given how early it was; she wasn't impressed either. There were police cars parked on the street and officers standing around as if waiting for something. What? Kate did not know as she kept everything above board and she had an agreement with Michener about following the information about Mike and the others.

"No, Ma'am we're here to deliver this." One of them said as he held out three envelopes to her. His partner who's been holding a clipboard turned it in her direction to.

"Didn't know you guys double as postal officers." Kate remarked calmly as she couldn't help but feel it was some kind of trap. But she kept her eyes peeled for trouble as she took the letter.

"Sign here." the one with the clipboard said indicating to her name on the page so she knew where to initial. It was a statement acknowledging that she she received the letter and time.

"I'm not signing that without my attorney present and what is this?" Kate asked as she understood he had the right to refuse signing the page because she learnt it was better to not sign a document blindly and to always ask questions.

"It is a formal notice informing you that the Government is claiming Eminent Domain on Lassiter Industries and it's subsidiaries." The officer who handed her the letters said.

"Excuse me?" Kate asked in disbelief.

"And part of the Government appropriating Lassiter Industries and it's subsidiary companies is that we have to seize all technology, information and paperwork anything related to said companies."

"I mean this with the deepest respect given I appreciate the fine work you all do in keeping the peace but when did the police have this much power?" Kate asked as she opened the envelopes which was a bit of a struggle with Scout under arm licking and nipping at her as he wanted to be put on the ground to play with the 'new people'.

"When the police force was federalised over two hours ago. We also need you to give us all your access codes as the server farms and network have locked down." The police told her, Kate pulled out the letters and dropped the envelopes behind her on the floor to look over the letter.

"You'll have to speak to Valerie Raymond as she is the one with all the keys to our communication and technology services. Now if this is all then thank you for your time." She told them in a tone that said they could go. She looked at the titles of the papers. One was a notice, a second one was about compensation and third seemed to be in regards to her banking. She really needed the police to go so that she could take a proper look without Scout trying to eat it.

"We'll also need to remove anything related to your company from your home." The officer told her, Kate looked up from the papers in her hands to him. She narrowed her eyes at him as anger boiled within her. In the space of five seconds she'd had her company stolen from her and this officer was suggesting she let him and his people into the house before Maddy and Zoe were up to search her property. It was not on.

"You'll need a warrant which isn't in the paperwork here." Kate told him as she folded up the paperwork and gave him a cold look.

"Ma'am-" He started but Kate cut him off.

"No, I know my rights and this Eminent Domain only covers the offices not this house as it is privately owned by Lena Slattery not myself or Lassiter Industries. So you will need a warrant to search the premises."

"We'll get one." he assured her.

"At which time, I can tell Mrs Slattery so she can prepare her granddaughters and tell them why their rooms are being searched by the police when they've done nothing wrong. Now I appreciate you have a job to do, but it doesn't extend into this house. Also good luck finding a judge who'll give you a warrant to search the mother of one of the Nathan James' hostages. So thank you and we'll see you later." Kate said, the police officer was about to say something more but decided against it. He instead gave a nod and tipped his hat before looking to his partner.

Kate watched as the officers walked off the property and returned to their vehicle and drove off. The other police cars followed bar one that stayed parked on the other side of the road. Kate stepped back into the house and placed Scout on the floor. She locked to the door and pressed her forehead against the front door and cursed under her breath.


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: Just wanted to drop a quick note thanking everyone who reviewed. I loved all the kind words and hope you continue to enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

* * *

"Sir, maintaining current speed, we'll reach the end of the minefield in less than four minutes." Granderson told Tom, He gave a nod and turned back to looking out the front window of the bridge as the ship rocked and rolled again from the shock wave of another mine being exploded. They were making good progress but even Tom couldn't feel completely optimistic as he found when things were too easy life tended to throw a curve ball. Right now, those mines were still gravitating to them, how they knew to differentiate to between the ship and the other mines perturbed him.

They had Cruz and Wolf in a RHIB dragging a nixie in the water to detonate the mines while the Helo did the same but from the air. It was hard to watch the Helo as every time they detonated a mine; the Helo was jerked down by the force of the nixie hitting the mine pulled at the aircraft. It made him worry that the Helo would be jerked from the sky, he wasn't ready to face the scenario of losing the only sibling he had left.

"How we doing, Green?" Tom asked over the radio, he had the view from the kingfisher on a screen above the Captain's chair but he still wanted an update. He wanted to know their progress as one couldn't always rely on technology for everything. It was just a helpful tool.

" _By our count, we've got three sets left, Sir._ " Danny replied over the radio.

"Copy that." Tom said to Danny, as it showed what he was seeing on the screen that showed the what the kingfisher was seeing. He then focused on Cruz and Wolf. "Alpha team, 2 more sets... 100 yards off our starboard bow. Bearing 1-6-5." Tom informed them.

 _"Got it, sir. On it._ " Cruz replied, a few minutes they felt the shock waves of the detonated mines followed by the noise.

 _"Alpha team, we've got the same problem midships port side._ " Lt Commander Burk said from CIC over the same radio channel.

" _Heading to your port side. Permission to increase speed, Sir_." Cruz requested.

"No more than 15 knots. We don't want your engine noise to set off the whole damn minefield." Tom told him over the radio as he kept his eyes on the horizon watching as the Helo detonated more mines.

" _Aye aye, Captain._ " Cruz replied, the phone on the dash in front of the Captain's chair and picked up the reciever.

"Bridge." he said.

" _Captain, we've got hydrophone effects. Torpedo incoming_." Lt Commander Burk informed him, Tom felt his heart skip a beat as the screen above showed no signs of a torpedo or even the faintest hint of a ship in the area.

Where?" Tom asked, the alarm sounded on the ship. He watched the screen above the Captain's chair and then CIC input the data. A red symbol appeared on the screen moving their direct a lot faster than the mines. "Son of a bitch. Where the hell did that come from?" Tom demanded.

" _Calculating vector, sir_." Lt Commander Burk told him, Tom lowered phone as he didn't want to deafen Lt Commander Burk.

All engines ahead flank! Sonar, radar, find me a contact. There's a ship out there somewhere." Tom ordered as he shouted over the noise of the Alarm that was blaring to the personnel on the bridge, he picked up the radio with his other hand. "Wolf, Cruz, be advised torpedo incoming." Tom informed them, he placed the radio down and placed the phone connected to CIC to his ear.

"Inbound. 7 miles out, doing... 60 knots." Lt Commander Burk informed him, Tom inwardly cursed.

 _"We have not swept all the mines, Sir! You are not clear to overtake us!_ " Danny told him.

"Sir, no room to evade port or starboard." Granderson informed him, something Tom already knew.

"Sir, torpedo appears to be a VA-111 big enough to blow the entire minefield around us." Burk said over the comm in CIC.

* * *

"Who was that at the door?" Ravit asked as she found Kate in the study pulling down the maps, photos and erratically wiping the white boards as she went. She'd heard the door open and Kate speaking with whoever was on the otherside but didn't really understand what 'Eminent Domain' meant or why the Police wanted entry into the house at such an early hour.

"The police. Michener went back on his agreement and has stolen my company. We need to get rid of anything that is sensitive information as they are getting a warrant. They claim they are collecting anything related to Lassiter Industries but I'd say they are going use whatever they find to charge us with espionage and treason." Kate said, she knew she sounded like a nut case but she wasn't going to be caught out again.

"Pile all the paper onto the table. I'll get wash bags and we'll run it through the washing machine with the darks. It'll pulp the paper and make it unreadable." Ravit told her before she dashed out of the room.

Kate pulled down the photos, grateful that they'd printed them on paper as she didn't think the washing machine would destroy photos easily. She couldn't believe the mess they were in. She called Anna first who was on her way over, then Val but got no answer, which was worrisome as Val always picked up her phone but she didn't have time to find her yet. The next person she called was her lawyer and was waiting for a phone call back for now she had to make sure the house held nothing that could be misconstrued as a crime. Luckily she kept her work at Lassiter Industries so it was only the contracts that Michener offered them less than 12 hours ago and what intelligence they'd gathered on the Hostages. Bar the contracts from the White House, the rest had to be destroyed.

So she pulled apart hours of work, tossing it on the desk as Ravit said. Glad she knew what to do as Kate was just frazzled from trying to keep herself together and fighting the urge to punch something.

"Is this everything?" Ravit asked her.

"Yeah, most of it was stored on Val's laptop but I'm reformatting my own computer to make sure there isn't anything we've missed." Kate said to her as Ravit pushed all the paper into a couple wash bags reserved for washing delicates. Once the desk was cleared, Ravit left the room. Kate went through the room three more times to make sure they had all the paperwork out of the room and picked up the pins that had fallen to the floor as she didn't want Scout choking on them before she gave a sigh of some relief. She moved to the white boards and used the sleeve of her sleeping shirt to wipe what remained off the board.

"Is everything alright?" Lena asked appearing at the door. Kate turned her and shook her head as the more she thought about the angrier she got.

"No, Michener screwed us over and the police were here 20 minutes ago wanting to search the house. I told them to get a warrant, so be prepared but know Ravit and I've cleaned the room of sensitive information. There's nothing incriminating but if you got anything you need to hide. Now is the time." Kate warned her.

"I'm ok but what did Michener do?" Lena asked her.

"He stolen everything Lassiter Industries related from me. So my company, it's subsidiaries are his and my money which is fully invested into the company is gone too as it goes with him." Kate told her with a humourless laugh as it had all been forced into her care because legally it was easier that way.

"He can't do that." Lena argued in disbelief.

"He can and did. It's called Eminent Domain, it's where the Government has the right to appropriate Lassiter Industries and it's subsidiaries when it will be devoted to public or civic use or, in some cases, to economic development. But he got his senator buddy to adjust the laws so they charge me for all the transfer titles using my money. There's no way to fight it." Kate told her.

"But you're already helping the public." Lena said confused as to why it was happening and concerned that Kate's health given she had a doctor's appointment in a few hours and wasn't looking her best. She made a mental note to call Rachel as she knew with Maddy home from school she couldn't go to the doctor's appointment without Maddy cluing in. Lena like Kate wanted to keep it quiet until they had more information about the pregnancy.

"Not the way Michener and Allison Shaw wanted." Kate said with a sigh as she sank down on the couch and dropped her head into her hands. She was just so fed up with it all. A knock sounded at the door, which brought Kate's head up "That's either Anna or the Lawyer." Kate told Lena.

* * *

 _"Wolf, let out as much line as you can._ " Burk asked the Alpha team over the radio. Tom was listening in as they were in a mess of a situation. He couldn't help but feel the old saying of 'When it rains it pours' come to mind and how apt it was to this moment. It wasn't bad enough they were in a mine field, they now had a torpedo heading straight for them,.

" _Captain, 15 knots will not allow us to intercept._ " Cruz requested.

"Sir, the Nixie needs to hit that torpedo beyond the edge of the minefield." Granderson told Tom.

"Gun it, Cruz." Tom ordered, he knew he could look out the front window for the show but he preferred the detachment of watching it on the kingfisher screen. It made it seem more like a game than a real life and death situation. Something that helped ease the tension in him and help keep him focused on their goals.

"Copy that, Sir." Cruz replied.

"Disengage overpower governors." Tom ordered over the phone to CIC before he lifted the radio to his mouth "Jesse, you need to hustle. Those mines are gonna be exploding right under our bow if we get any closer to you." Tom informed her, he didn't need the force of the blast knocking the Helo to roughly and there was a chance the Nixie could be dragged back which would yank harshly on the Helo to do a lot of damage. He needed them to survive. He also selfishly needed Sasha to live.

" _I go any faster, I'm gonna pull the Nixie out of the water._ " Jesse told him.

"I don't care, pull it out of the water and clear to a safe distance." Tom ordered her, a mine exploded to port side of the ship and Tom steadied himself as he gripped the front window frame.

" _Copy that._ " Jesse replied over comm.

" _Cruz, 400 yards. Flare to starboard on my call._ " Lt Commander Burk said. "300 yards." the man paused. "Hold 2-4-5. Now 2-4-7. When this thing goes, you do your damndest to stay in that boat." he told Alpha team.

Roger that!" Cruz replied.

200 yards. 100 yards. Brace!" Lt Commander Burk ordered, "Fire in 3, 2, 1... Now!" he ordered, Tom looked out the front window a second later the water a few kilometres ahead of them erupted from the explosion.

"Shockwave coming" Lt Commander Burk informed them. Tomcalled out to the bridge crew to brace as he leaned forward waiting for the shock wave to hit the other mines and detonate them around the ship. A long tense minute passed by and nothing happened, Tom barely felt the slightest movement in the ship as the shockwave of the blast didn't hit them. It also didn't initiate a chain reaction to the other mines but Tom wasn't going to jinx it.

He held on the front frame as he picked up the phone receiver and dialled CIC "XO." he said needing confirmation. He looked at the screen seeing the red marker that was the torpedo was gone and the ship was still moving forward. It looked like they were clearing the mine field but he needed Lt Commander Burk to call it.

"We're clear, Captain." he told him, Tom released a breath he had been holding ever since they'd been trapped in the mine as they were managed to get out with the ship intact.

"Wolf, Cruz, come in, over." Granderson said hailing the alpha team, Tom pushed off from the frame and hung up the phone looking to Granderson. The woman shook her head and Tom's stomach twisted in a knot as Wolf and Cruz hadn't responded to their hails.

"Lookouts to the rail. Prepare to form a search party." Tom ordered, the crew bounced into action at his orders.

* * *

"We can fight it, but we won't get far. No one has every been able to stop an Eminent Domain." Kate said to Kara as the Lawyer had left after looking at the documents given to her by the police. He'd decided to go find some friends and discuss the best options of looking after the employees who were going to be affected. At Kate's order of course and he was motivated as he was paid by the company not her. He of course was pissed given Michener's move meant he was out a lot of profit given Lassiter Industries had been his biggest client.

"What will happen to the company?" Anna asked as she and Kate had been trying to figure out what to do to protect their asses as they felt betrayed by Samantha. Samantha was being rather quiet on her end as well that was until Kara showed up.

"Michener is breaking it into pieces and giving it over to the Regional Leaders. They control whatever is in their territories, they'll probably keep on the employees but only when they agree to a pay cut." Kara told her.

"Asshole." Kate said under her breath as she didn't need Maddy or Zoe hearing her. They were all all over the place in the house doing whatever they did when they wanted 'alone' time. Frankie was in the playpen occupying herself with whatever 3 months old did when they didn't have someone cooing over them. Lena was pottering around the yard with Scout; while Kate, Kara, Anna and Ravit sat at the dining table talking.

"I'm so sorry about this." Kara said to them, she felt awful about what had happened and that there just wasn't a moment to catch their breath. She'd gotten a call from Samantha to destroy whatever sensitive information she had and to reformat the hard drive of the laptop she was given as she had a bad feeling given Dennis couldn't access the Lassiter Industries servers and Val was missing.

"It's out of our hands, this also means you're out of job as he won't acknowledge the agreement he made with us as we can't investigate the mutation in Japan without money." Anna said, which was when Kate got an idea.

"We have money." Kate said with a smile.

"What? I thought we can't access company funds." Anna said with a frown as she wondering how sleep deprived Kate was.

"We can't but the debt markers from the Japanese Government were placed into my name, not Lassiter Industries." Kate said with a smile as it meant she wasn't broke and could stick it Michener.

"Kate if you call in that debt it'll-" Kara started but Anna cut her off as she gave a smile as she knew what Kate was thinking.

"She doesn't have to call it all in at once. You think Samantha would be able to convince the Air Force to give me a ride to Japan?" Anna asked Kara, changing the topic because if they had funds then they could still pursue the mutation of the virus. Something they felt was more important than fighting to get back the company.

"Possibly but why would you want to go?" Kara asked her.

"We need someone on the ground there to help keep everyone calm. I know the people there and without the network we only have SAT phones to communicate. If we don't figure a way to fight this weapon that is impeding the cure then my culture will die and who knows who else. The Japanese Government depended on us to help them and Michener took that away from them. Away from us because he didn't have the back bone to keep his word to us in the face of the Regional leaders." Anna said.

"There's still no word from Mrs Miller either." Kate added as everything was going belly up ever since the Mike and the others were taken hostage. She couldn't help but feel it was a catalyst but to what end? she didn't know. There wasn't enough information to speculate.

"Apparently there's been a coup but no one has stepped up to take charge yet. It's still A mess of misinformation." Kara said sharing what Samantha had told her.

"Iowa was such a peaceful place." Anna remarked, she honestly couldn't understand out of all the territories why it would crumple. Sure life wasn't easy but it was a place people could get work and housing with little to no issues compared to other territories that struggled.

"Apparently not any more and whoever takes over is going to control a large portion of American food supply. We have Mrs Miller and Val M.I.A.," Kara said as she rubbed her face with her hands. It felt like they were finally getting somewhere and now it all just felt like a set up. The façade had crumbled and they were left with this huge mess to deal with.

"Val probably went to ground when the cops showed up. We haven't seen her arrest on TV, so she's out there somewhere." Kate commented, she'd called Rachel and found out the police had dropped by for an early morning visit.

"I will look for Val. She obviously found something out that we need to know. She couldn't have gone too far given she can't drive and it's too early for public transport." Ravit said speaking up for the first time.

"Sounds like a plan, if Lena can watch Frankie then I can back you up." Kara offered as Kate and Anna were tied up for the foreseeable future. Ravit gave nod in agreement and it was sorted.

"Ok, Ravit and Kara find Val, I will work out what I need to do in regards to Japan. Kate is going to go shout at Michener because compartmentalizing this shit is unhealthy and we need to suss out if he's a mastermind or moron." Anna said as she had to wonder what the game was given they were one second enemies, the next allies; Michener was pulling the rug out from under them. If so many lives weren't affected by it, it would almost be amusing. But it wasn't. None of what was going on was funny.

"Great," Kate said unenthusiastically though she had to admit she would like to be able to shout at the man but it was matter of getting through the gauntlet of secret service. "Then this afternoon we'll have a celebration with cake for Anna and Tex's engagement." Kate added with a smile as hearing her best friend was engaged to Tex and practically glowing even in the mess they were living was worth celebrating.

"We don't have to." Anna said, she had informed them all when she came through the door. A zing of happiness ran through her every time she looked down at the ring on her hand. It was small solitaire diamond ring with a plain delicate platinum band, she loved that it wasn't overly showy and just an understated elegant piece. But the real love she had towards it was what it represented. The promise of intent, the sentiment of love.

"I want sponge cake with jam and coconut yogurt and icing." Kate told Anna with a smile as she leaned her head against Anna's arm.

"So basically this party is more about you eating cake." Anna said in a matter of fact tone.

"If that makes you feel better then yes, it is but it's also nice to just celebrate the good things." Kate said with a teasing smile as she knew Anna wasn't big on parties especially when she was the centre of attention but even she couldn't resist the allure of cake and a few laughs. It was something they could all use given the situation.

"Fine, yes everyone come back here at 6pm and we'll eat food and celebrate Tex and my engagement and gush over the photos of Kate's demon possession." Anna said to the others.

* * *

"Anything Burk?" Tom asked as he stood on the starboard balcony off the bridge with binoculars. It had been hours since they safely exited the mine field and also hours since Wolf and Cruz had gone MIA after using their nixie to destroy a torpedo. Tom was started to dread that they'd never find the men, he knew he was a complete asshole but he didn't want to lose them. Wolf and Cruz were two of the best operators he had, it was just their skills and expertise he was afraid of losing but the men themselves. They were integral members of the ship's crew. While Tom knew the motto of everyone on the ship was dispensable, it didn't make losing members of crew any easier to bear.

 _"There's no sign of them, sir. Just some pieces of the RHIB_." Burk replied over the radio, Tom paused for a moment taking in the information as it was good, and they were losing light as the sun was slowing sinking into the ocean. Once it grew dark it would make the search harder, there was also the problem of hypothermia and dehydration setting in and killing Cruz and Wolf if they were still out there.

"How you doing on fuel, Jesse?" Tom asked trying to stay focused.

" _Uh, plenty. Going in for another sweep now_." Jesse told him, Tom didn't argue with her as he appreciated the eyes in the sky but he knew she had to be running close to empty as she'd only refueled once and had covered more territory than Burk on the RHIB.

" _North-northwest heading 3-3-0 to 3-4-3."_ Lt Commander Burk said over the radio redirecting Jesse to the next search grid.

" _Copy that, changing course_." Jesse replied. Tom could barely make out the Helo in the distance even with the binoculars and gave up as he moved back into the ship. The bridge crew paused momentarily as they acknowledged his presence before continuing their duties.

That torpedo came from somewhere." Tom said Granderson as he stood at the navigation station looking down at the map Granderson had laid out. She was crossing off search grids and trying to figure out where the ship that launched the torpedo could have been.

"No contacts on radar or sonar, sir. These islands here, they could be taking cover anywhere." Granderson said looking as frustrated as he felt about it. As they hadn't even seen a ship on the horizon and he didn't want to think it was another submarine but he knew if it was a submarine then they either would have detected it. Or the sub would have attacked again as they had ample opportunity to.

"They have to be somewhere in this chain of islands. Got to CIC and see if Lassiter Industries has a satellite roaming this way that we can redirect. We might be able to see it as it has to be at least an Atago class destroyer given the pirates are Japanese." Tom told her.

"Sir, what if it was the Chinese?" Granderson asked in a low voice.

"No, they want us to hunt Takehaya. Once he's out of the way, the Chinese fleet will turn their attention onto us. Until then go to CIC and see what we can find ok?" he asked her.

"Yes Sir," Granderson said, she turned to leave but stopped when Burk spoke over the radio.

"Captain, you're never gonna believe this. We got them." Burk said, the bridge erupted into cheering and applause at the news. Tom couldn't help but release a sigh of relief and smile; grateful for the news. " _We got them, sir. We got them."_ Burk repeated.

* * *

"You son of bitch!" Kate said storming into Michener's office, she had expected to be harder but apparently the key was to threaten to go to the press with very sensitive information and then to just keep walking. "You really think this figure is 'Just compensation'? You made me take Lassiter Industries and it's subsidiaries on when I didn't want to for the sake of the economy and the people. I funded your fucking military because you have nothing in your coiffures. Then to slap me in the face you taxed me at the highest bracket you could and were going to add more tax reforms to just snake even more from me-"

"Mrs Lassiter, now is not a good time." Michener said to Kate as Jacob Barnes sat in the guest chair opposite his desk with his Dictaphone out. Michener waved the secret service back as he didn't need a scene in front of Jacob. But Kate didn't care if Jacob published every word he heard in the room as she was creating a distraction and frankly venting her anger at Michener as he so richly deserved it.

"Really? because I have to say having the police show up at my door at 4:30 in the fucking morning to give me this bullshit wasn't the best time for me either. Eminent Domain-" Kate unfolded the notice and dropped it on his desk. "You think my corporation is only worth $500,000, that is your way of compensating my hard work and loss of future revenue?" Kate asked him incredulously.

"It's what you'd make as a CEO for five years and it's tax free. A company you've only run for a few months." Michener said as if it was enough to calm her.

"It's a slap in the face, you're breaking my late husband and brother in law's multi billion dollar company to shreds and handing them to the Regional leaders. They will reduce the incomes of the employees they retain. Their 401Ks and my bank accounts drained to pay for the transfer of titles from one territory to the next. You condemned my employees to going from the 'American Dream' to living below the poverty line without unions to protect them thus making them slaves." Kate told him bitterly as she really hated the man before her. She never gave it much thought before or feeling but in this moment she wanted to tear him to pieces just so he could know what it was like to have everything constantly taken away from him.

"The ration cards-" Michener started but Kate cut him off.

"Are bullshit, my company was showing that there is a different way of life. You're so short sighted with no vision and no back bone or strength to even be the leader this country so sorely needs. Tom believed you to be that man, yet here you are betraying your own people for a few extra bucks to line your pockets." Kate told him, she could see her words hit him hard as he looked visibly hurt by her words.

"Are you done?" Michener asked her, Kate shook her head as she pulled another envelope from her purse but this time she tossed it onto the desk. He wanted her to leave, she'd said enough with Jacob in the room to destroy him. Anymore would devastate his administration.

"No, given you so rudely took what was mine yet again; I'm calling in my debt marker. So you can shove your 'just compensation' up your ass, you and the American people owe me 1.25 trillion dollars which is earning interest as we speak. Because I may be a hypocrite in some respect but I'm not an asshole like you; I'll take repayments of $6000 tax free a month until that debt is paid." Kate told him.

"This won't stand up in court." Michener told her.

"That's where you're wrong. The US doesn't own the World bank in it's entirety and you're going to pay what is due to me. As it's time this country and you compensated me for all the bullshit you've put me through and what you've taken from me." Kate told him she walked about three steps away from him when Michener spoke up.

"I don't owe you anything. This country doesn't owe you any reparations." he told her. Kate turned around and gave him a cold smile.

"Really? You allied yourself with the Immunes. You saw me in Baltimore, you knew what they were doing to me and you allowed them to cut me open and steal part of my liver because you didn't want to die-"

"I didn't know." Michener said cutting her off as he hadn't meant to set her off but he also stupidly didn't want to appear weak in front Jacob as the man would report what he heard and saw. The President being dressed down a civilian would not go over well.

"You did, you heard the inconsistencies in their stories. You saw the restraints on my wrists and ankles but you ignored it. You ignored it because you wanted to live and I was that ticket. I've been your ticket ever since, except now I'm done taking your shit. So get your lawyers to look over the paperwork but I'll save you some time; it will take you months and months to fight it and in the end you'll lose." Kate assured him and with that she walked out of the office, a smile playing on her lips as Jacob wasn't going to keep quiet on what she just disclosed in the office.

* * *

"Sir," Lt Commander Burk said as Tom walked into CIC. He'd been halfway to the Helo bay to see the return of the search teams when the ship started blaring a deafening alarm they used for when they had to evacuate the ship. The power had cut out seconds after putting the ship into pitch black for a several minutes before the back generators kicked in.

"XO, what's going on?" Tom asked as he wanted to know what the hell was going on. He had to wait for the red lights to illuminate the interior of the ship before he could get to CIC.

"We were trying to access the Lassiter Industries satellite network and the codes didn't work. So we attempted to hack into them and our systems were infected with a virus. It turned on our EPIR-"

"How long was it on for?" Tom asked as he knew the system Lt Commander Burk was talking about. It was the system that kicked in when the ship was going down to help rescue ships locate the wreck to recover people and destroy what sensitive technology or information they couldn't recover. The problem was that it broadcasted their position for the world to know exactly where they were.

"Less than a minute. It's why I ordered for the power to be cut. We've isolated the beacon from the system, cleaned the computers and rebooted CIC. Main power will be back up and running soon." Lt Commander Burk informed him. Tom nodded but it didn't allay the seriousness of the situation as it meant that anyone in their vicinity would have seen that blip on their system and the automated call for SOS.

"But if the pirates are out there or the Chinese fleet, they just got a very good idea of where we are. I want us out of here as soon as possible." Tom said to him.

"Why would Lassiter Industries set us up like that?" Lt Commander Burk asked him, Tom knew the man asked the question loud enough for the whole of CIC to hear because they had to be thinking this was a trap. But given they weren't sunk yet, it was a poorly laid one.

"No, the only draw we can take from this is that Lassiter Industries had been compromised." Tom told him.

"Should we contact home?" Lt Commander Burk asked.

"No, we stay at EMCON." Tom ordered.

* * *

"Colonel Nash," Kate said in greeting as Samantha fell into step with her as she walked down the hallway of the old courthouse.

"I get it, you're pissed but I barely had time to call Kara. The Regional leaders thought they could push me around. With your company in their control they want to talk about how the military should be run in the future. They basically want to shut us down and breakdown what soldiers we have and disperse them into the territories."

"So each territory has their own Militia." Kate said as that's what it sounded to her which was the opposite of America coming together. It sounded more like the Regional leaders were looking for sole control of their territories.

"Yes, they haven't run it by Michener yet as I was quietly approached with it, they stressed that this was the 'future' of America." Samantha said in disbelief as she felt like she had a target on her back. She also felt betrayed by Michener's actions as he'd made her an untrustworthy fool to Kate and the others.

"Sounds more like a coup in the making." Kate said in a low voice as they continued down the hallway.

"No, it's just using what little resources we have wisely." Samantha said in a mockingly serious manner as they reached outside.

"I assume the agreements we signed are null and void?" Kate asked her, she winced at the bright sunlight as she looked around making sure they couldn't be heard. She had to admit she wasn't sure whether to trust Samantha given what happened but then this open conversation eased the tension within her that the woman might still be an ally.

"Yes, the Regional Leaders are gunning for your ass. I assume you cleaned your house." Samantha said, she knew Kate was smart enough to remove anything that could be misconstrued but had to asked anyway.

"Yes, not that it matters as they just got my ass. I have no livelihood, no money. I'm pretty sure they would have taken the house except it's owned by someone else. Tell me, did you come to my house because your offer was legitimate or were you there to help them?" Kate said she couldn't help but ask the question and she wasn't shy to be blunt as she preferred to get it out of her system.

"Do you think I'd agree to something that has essentially bankrupted the Military?" Samantha asked her, Kate gave a nod as she had to admit it was a dumb move to betray the one person who was signing the paychecks and keeping on the lights. Without Lassiter Industries, the military had no funding to keep them operational.

"No, what is going on here? How did Michener get the bright idea to destroy my late husband's company?" Kate asked her.

"Allison and Alex put the screws to Michener. The Regional leaders came in wanting to know everything that is happening in regards to the hostage situation and what we're doing/ He kept his mouth shut and the leaders got shitty with him. They started complaining talking about separating from the government unless-"

"They were compensated to appease the little people." Kate finished for her.

"Exactly, he either handed over your company or had to rescind all his domestic policies. Allison suggested the company be taken and broken into pieces as it gave the Regional Leaders' more autonomy." Samantha said to her,

"So he went with former because it doesn't cut him off at the knees and make him look weak. Great. So now what?" Kate asked her.

"Keep our heads low, hope Tom gets to the hostages before the Pirates make more demands." Samantha said with a sigh as they were stuck on the sidelines until the Nathan James lift EMCON and made them aware of what was going on. All they knew was that they hit a minefield and then radio silence ever since. It made Samantha wonder if the Nathan James had sunk or were stuck in the minefield still.

"Do you know what's going in in Iowa?" Kate asked as she didn't want to think about the Nathan James or Mike not when she had an OB/GYN appointment to get to. It was just too upsetting at the moment. Hell, everything was upsetting for her.

"There was rioting but the police force has taken care of it, there were 34 casualties and we lost a third of the crops to a fire." Samantha said shaking her head in disgust as she couldn't understand why the public would riot especially in a state with the food was ample and work was available. They might have been the most monetary poor state but the living conditions were better off than those in the cities where there was no work to be found and food was expensive even with the ration cards that gave a discount.

"Have you heard anything about Mrs Miller?" Kate asked, she dreaded the question especially when Samantha shook her head and looked saddened.

"She was one of the casualties." Samantha informed her.

"Shit," Kate said stepping back as this was not something she wanted to be true. She liked Mrs Miller a lot and she also knew she was the only family Miller had in the world and he was trapped with Mike with the belief his mother was safe. She pressed a hand to her mouth as she wasn't sure if she was going to cry or vomit.

"Her residence was burned to the ground and a body recovered. It's being held at the morgue." Samantha said hating that she had to share even more bad news on a crappy day.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

* * *

"Make yourself at home." Tom replied as he came into his-well Mike's stateroom to find Sasha standing in the corner of the room with her arms folded across her chest. She looked incredibly uncomfortable like she didn't want to be in the room with him but had something to say. He wondered how long she'd been waiting as he'd been on the bridge waiting for one of their enemies to pounce on the opportunity of knowing their exact location. But after an hour of nothing. he felt they were probably in clear and that is was time for him to get some sleep.

"I looked over the computer programming for the virus that infected the ship's systems." Sasha told him.

"I'm told it hasn't been completely eradicated." Tom said as Lt Commander Burk informed him that the systems were glitching and so they had to disconnect majority of their communication systems to stop them from broadcasting even unknowingly. So now even if they wanted to break EMCON they couldn't.

"It's Chinese in origin." Sasha told him as she pulled a folded piece of paper from her back pocket and passed it to him. He unfolded it and looked at the printed screen. "I know the hacker or knew her from my time in China. That symbol at the bottom of the page is her signature." Sasha said as stood beside him and pointed to the symbols on the page she had highlighted.

"Why would she help Peng. Hackers are usually anti-government types. How did it get into Lassiter Industries satellite network?" Tom asked her, he wondered how Sasha would even cross paths with a Chinese hacker as he figured it would be counter productive to be colleagues with one for her work.

"It wasn't by choice, the virus if I remember rightly is supposed to infect the systems of the enemy's technology and lay rather dormant collecting and sending information. This however has been modified when it hit your ship's systems it had one purpose-"

"To send out a beacon letting everyone know exactly where we are." Tom said completing her sentence as he already knew the end result of the virus infecting their system. None of it felt right to him, first his plane was shot down by Peng and his military. Peng took over the fuelling station with what remained of his fleet and yet Tom couldn't figure out what the man had to gain from pissing him off. The whole bullshit of being insulted just didn't sit right, there had to be more and now Lassiter Industries satellite systems were infected with a virus written by a Chinese hacker. It wasn't a coincidence but how it call came together was still outside of Tom's grasp as he couldn't put the pieces together.

"Now it's struggling to complete it's mission it's just rolling around and making it difficult for the CIC to function properly." Sasha told him, as she could see him trying to put the pieces together but she couldn't help him as she couldn't make sense of Peng's motives or how Lassiter Industries being compromised to the degree it was could happen. Kate and Anna ran a tight ship, it didn't make any sense.

"Blinding us which would normally stall us if our engines weren't on a separate system. How did you get tech savvy?" Tom asked her as he tossed the piece of paper onto the table in frustration as he just needed something to go their way.

"It's part of the job and I'm not really that well versed. Nishioka was the one who's sussing it all out. I just read the Chinese words and knew the signature on the virus." Sasha said with a shrug as she wasn't going to take the credit for someone else's hard work. "Your people think they'll have it fix in under an hour." She added. Tom ignored her choice of words as it wasn't the first time she referred to the crew as 'his people' or America as 'your place, and Michener 'Your president' or she'd talk of him and his administration with little to respect like she had denounced them. It was a conversation he felt he wasn't ready to have yet.

"Good, should we be worried about this hacker?" Tom asked as he didn't need another person to chase down but he also was afraid of another hacker coming after them especially one that got by Val and her skills.

"No, she's dead. She died over 6 months ago from the virus." Sasha told him, Tom nodded at the information and inwardly gave a sigh of relief as he just wanted to get Mike and the others and go home.

"You know this for sure?" he asked her.

"Yes, she died in the room next to mine." Sasha told him, there was no refuting that as he assumed she was talking about her time in prison which did beg asking.

"We never talked about Peng and your deal with him. Then there is the tidbit of information that you were in Prison." Tom said, he noticed her tense up and realized he'd hit a sensitive spot but he hadn't missed how the two acted around one another. He wondered what she had meant she told Peng that she hadn't begun to thank him yet. He needed to know what was between them not because he felt it would affect the mission but because she was his sister and he wanted to know what kind of mess she was in.

"Two weeks into my assignment, the MSS picked me up, my handler and government burned me. The MSS knew my real identity and who I served but of course I was disowned but our government. They claimed I didn't exist and left me to the Chinese, luckily by that stage the news was more about the pandemic than about American spy caught on Chinese soil. I was sentenced without a trial for espionage and other crimes I didn't commit." Sasha said, she tried to keep the facts light as she didn't feel it was relevant nor did she was to think about it as it just burned that she was abandoned by America to die. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances but it still burned that no one had moved heaven and earth to save her.

"So Peng released you on what? Good behaviour?" Tom asked confused as he was trying to connect the dots in his mind.

"Peng was my interrogator. He believed that he broke me and that I was loyal to him. But what he doesn't understand is that genuine loyalty doesn't come from fear and it is definitely not something you can beat into a person." Sasha said, she winced slightly as she didn't need nor want to share as much as she just had with Tom and it was barely the surface of it. But she continued just to sate Tom's curiosity so he wouldn't keep picking at old wounds.

"He of course hadn't known that I had survived the pandemic until I showed up on his doorstep to use him to gain access to the cure he was hoarding. He needed an American on his turf to legitimize his presidency and standing in the international realm. The new Administration had no idea who I was. I had to tell them my resume, I just left out a few things. Got into contact with Lassiter Industries and that was it." Sasha told Tom.

"Explains why there was no photo on the file and that it was incredibly light." Tom remarked as he held a new found respect for Sasha and understanding for her motives and actions. She didn't want revenge for anyone, she just wanted to get out of it alive and help people on the side. He also could feel the underlying pain and anger in her words as she had been betrayed and abandoned by the people she had trusted. It had cost her a lot which left her bitter, he knew he would given the circumstances.

"Yes, I'm not here on some quest for myself. I'm here to help you and finally come home. That's it, but I won't lie; it would be a bonus if Peng was died somewhere in between now and getting back stateside." Sasha added, Tom couldn't help but smile as he couldn't see anything wrong with that except that killing Peng would start a war they couldn't finish. But it was good to know she wasn't running her own agenda.

"How did you escape the prison? Jesse help you?" Tom asked just out of curiosity. He didn't need to know what she had gone through in the prison as he already knew the Chinese Government treated their prison population appallingly. He just hated that his sister had suffered through it.

"Nope, I hooked up with her a couple weeks after my escape." Sasha answered glad he wasn't asking her what happened during her time in prison. She just wanted to leave that behind her.

"You going to tell me?" Tom asked her. Sasha gave him an amused smile before she decided to put him out of his misery.

"I slid through the meal slot on my door. Majority of the prison population were dead when I did it, so there wasn't much resistance getting out of the prison." Sasha told him in a matter of fact tone.

"Still impressive." Tom said complimenting her.

"No, I think what you do is more impressive. I've always run on solo missions. I don't think I could do what you do." Sasha told him.

"It's the job." Tom told her.

* * *

Kate sat in one of the many uncomfortable chairs in the OB/GYN office waiting room with Rachel. All around her were women of varying stages of pregnancy, she didn't really feel or look as pregnant as the women in the room. Frankly she was just uncomfortable with doctors in general thanks to what happened in Baltimore. It wasn't just the mistreatment but the scars and questions Doctors asked. 'What happened here?', 'How long did it take to heal?', 'Do you still have nightmares?', 'Do you get depressed?'; Kate blew out a sigh as she focused her full attention on filling out the form, she started to write 'Slattery' in the last name section of the form but only got as far as 'Sla' when she noticed her mistake and crossed out 'S' and wrote in 'Lassiter'.

She looked over to Rachel who had looked like she was enjoying herself as she was dressed in a lovely olive green tank maxi dress with a cream cardigan. She was even indulging in some disgusting over the top raspberry, pineapple coconut milkshake concoction while Kate was relegated to her water that was now wanting out of her bladder as she had to prep for the ultrasound. She unlike Rachel basically hadn't shown any care in her appearance as she was still wearing her pj's of a loose t-shirt and yoga pants that she wore to bed every night. Hell, it was the outfit she wore to Michener's officer. The only effort she put in this morning was putting on a bra and brushing her teeth. She was too tired to care what others thought but it didn't stop her from feeling the judgement roll off the other women in the waiting room. Frankly she was too twisted up in her anger at Michener and how he'd played her so well.

She was glad Jacob was tearing the man a new one on the news. He was painting Michener as a tyrant for stripping Lassiter Industries from Kate. How the employees would be affected by the changes. She was surprised at how he didn't demonise her or even mention her calling in the debt marker or the liver transplant. She looked at the TV screen to see old footage of her as they did a background on how Kate and Anna turned the company around to serve the public more than their bottom line. They were now the saints and Michener the asshole destroying a good thing. Kate gripped the pen in her hand so hard it started to crack under the pressure.

"It's ok." Rachel said to her as she gently pulled the pen from Kate's hand and took the clipboard from her. Rachel's drink abandoned to the side to help her. "I'll fill in the rest for you." she added with a kind smile, Kate wanted to snap at her that she could fill out the form by herself without Rachel taking it over but instead took a deep breath and nodded.

Her anger was at Michener, it was at the regional leaders and what had happened in Iowa. It just wasn't fair, that Mrs Miller had died and Miller was still a hostage who had no idea what was going on. She felt sick to her stomach as she had been a fool and a failure. Sure it was out of her hands but it didn't change how she felt. Now she was completely on the outside, she couldn't help Tom or Mike. She couldn't help anyone as she was broke. It really hurt her pride that Lena had to pay for her appointment and ultrasound as she couldn't even access her insurance to have it cover her medical expenses. Everything was tied up in the company thus frozen until god knew when.

"Thank for being here. Sorry, I pulled you out of your bed and away from the twins." Kate said to her in a low voice, Rachel gave her a soft smile as she wrote on the form not even pausing.

"No problem, it's actually nice to get away from the house. The twins don't need me for at least an hour." Rachel said with a serene smile. She missed the twins but they weren't far away as they were at a café with Jed who was collecting quite a crowd of older attractive woman thanks to the twins being cute and Jed being an attractive man in their age group. But she was happy that Kate had called and asked her to come with her. She knew this wasn't easy for Kate. The woman had a hellish morning, barely any sleep and was deeply hurt.

"Lena and I weren't ready to say anything to the girls until we knew how certain the pregnancy is. Lena wanted to be here but with Frankie and Maddy home from school it's hard to come up with a reason why we'd both be going to doctors without Maddy along" Kate said with a sigh and after her nightmare she wasn't ready to go into the room alone. She knew it was stupid but it was how she felt. She also just didn't want to be alone in the moment. Maddy was home from school, so Lena needed to stay with her as it would raise flags if they both left Maddy with someone else. Zoe was thankfully going to daycare for half the day. Ravit was searching for Val while Kara stayed at home with Frankie.

Kate had suggested to Kara that she separate herself from Michener's administration and just keep a low profile. She was afraid of the throwback onto Kara as she was their friend, she just didn't want to see Kara dragged into the storm Michener had brewed. Anna had been Kate's second choice to come to the appointment with her but Anna was busy getting ready to go to Japan. She, Tex and Kat had decided to make it a family excursion under the guise that they were have a vacation to celebrate Anna and Tex's engagement. Not that many people could afford to travel but Samantha had managed to organise a plane for them with medical and food supplies for the Japanese people.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked her as she couldn't help but ask for the third time that morning. Kate was not looking well and Rachel knew what it was like to go through the motions of pregnancy to know the 'glow' didn't exist and it wasn't a completely magical ride but it did have it's brilliant moments.

"Apart from needing go to loo? I'm ok, I just didn't sleep well last night and then I was woken up by that shitstorm." Kate pointed at the news. "I was sick and had a bad nightmare last night that I was being cut open instead of scanned. Mike was there acting like it was all normal." Kate said feeling stressed by the images of the dream revisiting her mind. "He was in Army uniform, he looked good. Really good." Kate said changing the topic to something lighter so they wouldn't delve into her psyche about the meanings behind her dreams.

"I doubt he'd like to know you're dreaming of him in Army clothing when he's Navy." Rachel remarked in good humour as she knew better than to press the issue of the nightmare. She knew what it was like to have them and that talking about it in the waiting room of the OB/GYN office wasn't going to provide a cathartic experience.

"No, he'd hate it but it's my dream. So I can dress him however I want." Kate said with a chuckle as she took the finished forms and rose up from her chair. She handed it into reception and sat down next to Rachel again.

"Very true." Rachel said as she took a sip of her drink.

"It's barely 9am, how can you drink that?" Kate asked her, she wanted to bring up the fact Rachel was a doctor and should know better about keeping healthy and eating right but decided against it as she would probably drink the same concoction if she could.

"I don't know, it makes me happy when we finish here we'll go back to the café and have brunch." Rachel said with a smile as she liked the coconut milkshake. It was decadently sweet but also refreshing with the tang of pineapple and lime juice.

"Maybe, if the twins aren't too fussy and I'm not too tired." Kate said as she didn't want Rachel to feel pressured to stay out if she wanted to go or be embarrassed if the twins made a raucous as it was the first outing the twins had made from the house for more than a drive to friend's place for a visit.

"I think they'll be fine as they are taking to sleeping through the day and staying up all night." Rachel said with a tired sigh as she now understood why people had kids in their twenties. It was the endless energy one needed to deal with the sleepless nights. Though her coconut and raspberry concoction was hitting the spot and giving her a lift where coffee hadn't.

"I guess I'll get my own experience of that in a few months unless I'm growing a tumor." Kate said in a mocking manner as she still wasn't sure how to process it all and frankly she only vomited a few times and she had no other symptoms and no baby bump. She figured with her bad luck the doctor probably would find a tumor and it would be cancer.

"Kathryn Lassiter." A nurse called out.

"That's me." Kate said to the nurse as she and Rachel rose from their chair and moved to the doors where the nurse stood. She gave them a smile and beckoned for them to follow her into the back area of the offices.

"How are we today?" She asked them, making Rachel and Kate the royal 'we'.

"We are ready to get this over with." Kate grumbled, Rachel threw her a look of censure. "What? A litre of water in over an hour is not healthy." Kate added as if it was a reasonable excuse.

"Just in here." the nurse said. Directing them into the room where a woman in her late 40s with shoulder length blonde hair and a lab coat over an expensive looking black wiggle dress was standing by the bed and ultrasound machine.

"Hi, my name is Dr Linda Douglass." She said as she walked to them and held out her hand to Kate. They shook hands and then Rachel shook Dr Douglass' hand before they both looked to Kate. "Now, I figured we'd get into the ultrasound first and discuss the finer details afterwards. I assume you're good to go?" she asked Kate.

"As instructed." Kate said, Dr Douglass smiled and gestured to the bed that was up against the left wall of the room with the ultrasound machine next to it. To the right was a small desk with a small hand basin and tap to wash one's hand. To the back of the room there was a door that seemed to a toilet if the signage wasn't lying and Kate hoped not.

"Good, hop on up." Dr Douglass told her, Kate did as she was told and laid down on the bed. "We'll get you prepped, we'll start with an external U/S and if necessary move onto Internal one." She added. She continued explain what she was doing while moved her t-shirt up and got a paper towelling and wrapped it over the edge of her waistband and pushed down the top of her yoga pants low on her hips. "Normally I let the tech do this but honestly with your history; I felt better seeing everything first hand." Dr Douglass added.

"You expecting to see a two headed beast in there?" Kate asked her, the doctor smiled as she turned on the machine and set it up before she squeezed some conductive gel onto Kate's lower abdomen. Kate waited for the reaction to the scars on her stomach as most medical professional couldn't help but pause for a moment as their brain catalogue what each scar was but Dr Douglass much to her relief didn't as she got right down to business.

"No, I'm expecting to see a normal baby, how developed? We'll see." She told Kate, Rachel moved to stand next to Dr Douglass's left hand side as there wasn't any room for Rachel to be by Kate's side to hold her hand. The screen of the Ultrasound machine was not facing Kate which was somewhat of a relief as she preferred to not see the baby right away until she knew everything was ok. Frankly right now she was having difficulties just staying calm due to her nightmare from last night. She knew that she wasn't about to carved open but the darkened room was too eerie similar to the dream.

"So I looked over your medical records. I'm going to be honest. Your body has been through quite a lot of trauma." Dr Douglass said as she started moving the wand over her abdomen. "As you know, you've got anaemia and you're on the slim side of the scales but nothing to be concerned about at the moment as it could just be genetics into play or fast metabolism. That being said, I spoke with Dr Scott over the weekend about your case. I know she's not your GP but the let's call them 'treatments'-"

"You mean half my liver missing, the numerous drugs and fertility treatments I was given when I didn't need them and the numerous blood collections all done without my consent. Plus the ones that were with my consent?" Kate asked for clarification.

"Yes, like I said it's a lot of trauma for one body to have in less than a year. Now, I think the anaemia is from the multiple blood collections than the pregnancy and the reason your liver was slow to growing back was that your body was under a lot stress from processing out the mess of medications. But I'm more than sure it has regrown to its original size by now. The liver usually grows back to full size after 3 months barring any complications of course." Dr Douglass said as she continued rolling the wand over Kate's abdomen and stopping every once and while to take a snapshot or so Kate assumed as she pressed a couple keys and then continued the torture of pushing against her full bladder.

"Great." Kate said as she found little relief in the information being given. But looking at Rachel's face did as her friend watched the screen with a soft smile that said everything was ok.

"But we're not here for your liver." Dr Douglass said as she continued her inspection and moving the wand through the gel on Kate's lower abdomen making her squirm in discomfort of a full bladder.

"No, we're not." Kate said a slightly aggravated sigh as she was reaching her limit of being prodded with a full bladder. How anyone could be excited about this was beyond her but then usually the TV show had the father of the child in the room and happy music playing in the background.

"So your HcG levels came back in the 13 – 16 week range, but given what I'm seeing I'd say you're closer to 16 weeks judging by how this little one is going." Dr Douglass said as she pushed the machine back and with Rachel's help turned the screen so Kate could it. Kate felt a lump in her throat and her eyes burn with tears as she saw the image on the screen of a very active and perfect baby.

"One baby?" Kate asked for clarification.

"Yes, I don't see another one hiding in there and there's no Doppler effect on the heartbeat." Dr Douglass said with a smile as Kate looked relieved and scared at the same time. She turned on the speaker and the heartbeat of the baby sounded into the room. Kate couldn't help but smile at the fast but steady tempo as she looked to the screen seeing the tiny heart of her unborn child moving. She bit her bottom lip and pushed her emotions back as she really didn't want to cry in front of the Doctor and Rachel. She didn't want them to think she was upset when she just felt overwhelmed with joy, love and touch of panic.

"So everything is ok?" Kate asked to double check.

"Yes," Dr Douglass assured her with a smile.

* * *

"A little birdie told me that you were moving Dr Milowsky to the Air Force base here. That and you're flying Anna Hatake and relief supplies to Japan." Alex said to Samantha as he sat down at the table in the make shift command centre. Samantha who had just finished a phone call to Norfolk asking for an update on the other matters she was handling. Major Damon was doing a fine job stepping into her shoes but hearing the news that their funding was being cut was quite a blow. Yet here was Alex, looking like the cat that ate the canary.

"Tearing up Lassiter Industries has put our relationship with the Japanese Government in trouble which you very well know." Samantha said as she hadn't hid her and Anna's plans. She had decided that she had the authority to help the Japanese and the Air Force agreed as they weren't expending more than one plane and crew for the venture. It was in their mind for a good cause. One last good deed before they ran out of funding and had to sign over to the Regional leaders to stay alive.

"They don't want our help." Alex told her in a patronizing tone like she was the moron.

"What's this?" Michener asked as he came into the room with Allison at his heels. Samantha fought the urge to roll her eyes as she wondered what Allison bent him to do this time.

"Colonel Nash is sending medical supplies and people to Japan." Alex told him.

"I'm sending one plane with supplies and Anna Hatake who knows the people on the ground. It's a blood bank, medical supplies, water and food. It's well within my rights and that of Lt Colonel Hartford to do so without clearing it through the White House." Samantha reminded them all. they only had to answer to the President when their actions had the consequences of pissing off a country and starting a war. Or if they were utilizing a huge portion of their resources and personnel to get it done.

"Where are the supplies being taken from?" Allison asked.

"Avocet Labs delivered it all to us before the change over. It's military provisions and Alex; the Japanese government didn't want your help because you are all flash and no bang. I for one do not want the Japanese to lose hope and start telling the truth about the mutation. The truth that we could possibly be playing a hand in their genocide when we bypassed them to deliver the cure to China instead of making port in Okinawa." Samantha said deciding to stir the pot to see what would happen.

"It's a pandemic not a genocide." Michener said confused as to why Samantha was making inflammatory statements.

"It's genocide when we do nothing to help them, it's genocide when the mutation isn't a natural occurrence but a biological weapon that was used in Japan to wipe out it's people. If we sit on our hands and do nothing then we could be seen to be colluding with whoever used it." Samantha told him.

"What?" Michener demanded, Samantha could see he was completely clueless whereas Allison and Alex seemed rather guilty as they weren't shocked merely annoyed with topic.

"I spoke with the people in their labs. It isn't a mutation. It's a genetically modified bacteria that was introduced into Japan's environment. It wraps itself around the cure molecules in the blood impeding it's efforts to kill the virus. It was introduced a week before the cure arrived on their shores, funnily enough someone here thought it best we send all of the cure straight to China bypassing Japan even though it's on the way. Peng hoards the cure delaying it's reach to the other countries in the region. One has to wonder if they are suffering the same fate as Japan. That sending our ships out now was a waste of resources and man hours." Samantha said.

"Do you know what you're saying?" Alex asked her carefully.

"I do, which why while I still have some funding left. I'm going to use it to help the Japanese government and advise the CNO to investigate the possibility of biological weapons being used because that is a big problem for all of us. Dr Milowsky is a military prisoner, so yes; I am going to get him to help us given he has intimate knowledge on the subject matter. We don't know enough to know that we are safe from this weapon either. So I say it's worth the resources." Samantha told them.

"What about Dr Scott? Surely she could help us over using Dr Milowsky." Michener said uncomfortably as he didn't like the development on the matter even without proof. He was taking Samantha's word that it was a biological weapon which took precedence over what other squabbles were happening. It also meant there were more scientists that had survived the pandemic but were going against the ethos of their fields.

"You burnt that bridge when you took Lassiter Industries away from Lassiter and Hatake. Hatake is happy to go over to Japan for me but she's only acting as a liaison between three parties not a representative for US. The Australian Government has also stepped up by sending scientists and doctors over to Japan with supplies as well until the matter is closed. They are not impressed with how you acted towards Lassiter. There is talk of them rescinding their relationship with the US." Samantha told him.

"Alex, is this true?" Michener asked.

"I didn't realise they had a problem, but I haven't spoken to them and they haven't called me. How did you know?" Alex asked her.

"They called me to give me a heads up that we will have to pull our troops and shut down the bases we have there." Samantha told them, which didn't surprise her as KAte might had been given citizenship in America but she was an Australian forever and always to the Australian Government.

"They need us." Allison argued as she couldn't believe the country had the nerve to turn their back on America who'd been their ally for years.

"Correction, they 'needed' the cure and once again you burned the bridges when you took control of Lassiter Industries." Samantha told her.

"You'd think this woman was a national hero." Alex grumbled while Michener looked grief stricken as his presidency was not shaping up to be one of triumphs but of disasters that rolled from being bad to completely devastating.

"She is a retired but high decorated soldier. She received the Star of Courage. It's the second highest decoration a soldier can be awarded in service. She's basically their version of Tom Chandler in being loved by the population. Not only that but her company has offices and factories in Australia that employed many Australians. Offices and factories that have since shut down due to the US government taking the company." Samantha told him.

* * *

"I thought of calling your wife to see if some kind of arrangement could be had. But it turns out that she has been stripped of her company and fortune. She has no power anymore and you aren't the honourable man you pretend to be which doesn't surprise me." Takehaya told him as he had Mike pulled from the hut to talk to him. All with a purpose to show him, that while Toshiro hadn't been successful in taking out the Nathan James. They were still in power and it was time they asserted it.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked as he looked to Takehaya, his wife who was laying on the cot looked a little brighter than before but still very ill. It didn't bode well if Rios couldn't keep her stable. But now his offer of getting Kate to help was not working out.

"You posture as a man of honour. Yet you're not married to her and she is pregnant with your child." Takehaya said, Mike made a face as what he said didn't make any sense."You look genuinely confused." Takehaya added as he watched Mike like he were analyzing an ant for a project.

"You're messing with me." Mike said as it sounded crazy that Kate would divorce him and last time he checked; he had to present for her to divorce as for being pregnant. Well the odds were fairly slim given they used protection

"I am not." Takehaya assured him, as he pulled out an iphone and held it up for Mike watch as hit play on a video. Mike frowned as he couldn't understand why Takehaya was showing him the news. That was until a candid photo of Kate and Rachel popped up on the screen of them walking on the sidewalk. He focused on what the reporter was saying as he'd been distracted by the small image of his wife.

"- _Lassiter Industries former CEO Kathryn Lassiter was seen leaving a doctor's office today with Dr Rachel Scott this morning. Anonymous sources say she is expecting her first child and that her health has diminished over the past 3 months since her subsequent short lived marriage to Captain Slattery and the defamation of her character in the media. It has been speculated that her health issues have become a serious concern to Michener and the Regional leaders which is why they brazenly appropriated Lassiter Industries and it's subsidiary companies less than 6 hours ago in order to protect America's infrastructure. But no word has come from Michener's administration as to the fate of the company and it's employees yet._ " The reporter said.

Mike had noticed that the mobile didn't have any reception bars where they were which asked the question of how Takehaya managed to get a recording of the news. Takehaya turned the phone away from Mike and turned it off, he then pocketed it giving Mike a chance to explain himself.

"Didn't know we were so close to the US to get the news." Mike commented as he inwardly reeling from shock. He couldn't tell Kate's state of mind or health as she was wearing sunglasses and the photo was slightly blurry. He hated that he was stuck here finding out she was pregnant. That was if the news was to be trusted but still he couldn't help but feel a small amount joy unfurl at the idea of her being pregnant.

Something that he honestly a few months ago wouldn't have felt so enthusiastically about given his grief over the loss of his son was still fresh. Yes, that pain; that loss was still ever present in him. He knew he would carry it for the rest of his days, he wasn't sure he could handle the loss of another child. But he was warming to the idea of a baby with Kate, there was a lot of positives and he'd always wanted a big family. Now, it looked he was getting his wish, just not in the way he wanted it.

"Nn, I have friends with means." Takehaya informed him.

"And torpedoes. I wasn't lying when I said she could help you but I can't control what happens to her stateside or what my government does." Mike said, admitting as much made him feel like a helpless victim. But right now, it felt true to the circumstances as he was now banking on Tom and the Nathan James to find them more than the US government helping him. He knew the stripping of Lassiter Industries from Kate and Anna sealed the Military's death note as that was majority of their funding gone.

"Yes, you lost your only bargaining chip. It seems your government does not care for your safe return, so I suggest you become accustomed to your new life." he told Mike and with that he walked away leaving Mike to dwell in his thoughts at what was going on home without him.


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N: A big thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and review. I really appreciate the feedback as it helps fuel the story. Please enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

* * *

"Hello! how did it go?" Lena asked as she welcomed Kate, Rachel, Jed and the twins into the house. Jed pushed the double stroller into the house and parked it by the kitchen table as Kate and Rachel followed carrying the twins in.

"Good," Kate said feeling a little exhausted, Lena noticing Kate's condition took Olivia out of her arms without even asking and cradled the baby girl with a soft smile.

"What did the doctor say?" Lena asked Kate, who knelt down to greet Scout who was happy and excited to see everyone. She really loved him, he was such a happy and friendly dog which is what they needed.

"Ah, all good." Kate said tiredly as she honestly couldn't remember much except the sound of the baby's heartbeat and image of him or her on the screen. She was still reeling from being 16 weeks especially given she wasn't showing. Well, if Kate was honest she wasn't able to tell given she took to wearing yoga pants which were too stretchy and accommodating for her to really know. But she wasn't showing like the other women in the waiting or how Rachel had.

"The doctor said everything was fine. The baby is developing nicely, and is well within healthy parameters. All Kate needs to do is keep eating well and getting rest. She also printed out photos of the ultrasound." Rachel said with a smile; taking over for Kate with Lena as she adjusted Evie in her arms and gently placed her into the stroller to keep sleeping.

"The girls are asleep and Zoe's at preschool, show me." Lena demanded as she placed Olivia in the stroller with Evie so her hands are free. Kate pulled out the envelope from her purse and handed it Lena who practically tore it open to get to the photos.

"Coffee, Tea. Anyone?" Kate offered with an amused smile at Lena's antics.

"You sit down, I'll get it." Jed said to her as he gently pushed her towards the table where Rachel sat down next to Lena looking at the pictures. Kate sat down opposite them and watched with a smile at Lena's exuberance.

"Oh look at her cute little nose." Lena cooed over the ultrasound photo.

"Her?" Kate asked Lena as she had kept the sex of the baby a surprise. She wanted something to share with Mike as he was the one who in the dark the most.

"Rachel had girls, Kara had a girl and the last two grand-babies Mike gave me were girls too. Did you find out the sex?" Lena asked Kate.

"No, I'm keeping it a surprise." Kate replied, she thanked Jed as he placed a cup of chamomile tea in front of her and served the others their tea before taking up a seat beside her. She looked to Scout who was trying to figure out how to get to the twins in the stroller as he could smell them and obviously wanted to suss them out as the rest of them were known to him.

"Can you tell?" Lena asked Rachel showing the pictures to her, Rachel wore an amused smile but shook her head.

"The baby wasn't telling us either. So no,I don't know." Rachel lied as she did know from when the ultrasound was performed but she was keeping quiet as Kate wanted to be surprised. So she would keep it a secret to respect Kate's wishes.

"Well, maybe next time she'll make herself known." Lena said in a smug manner as she was sure she was right about the sex of the baby even though she had no evidence to prove it. Yet other than her theory that the Nathan James crew only bore baby girls.

"This is going to be so awkward for you if it turns out to be a he." Kate told her, in a matter of fact ton.

"Well, we can't call her 'it' or 'bug' or 'alien' or whatever titles you can come up with that don't sound friendly or loving." Lena informed her, Kate didn't see why it was so important as she felt that on the list of priorities was getting the house sorted and supplied. Ration cards made it a bitch to buy in bulk and Kate would rather have everything that they could buy and be ready than talk about acknowledging the baby with a descriptor.

"What did you call Mike when he was in the womb?" Kate asked her, out of curiosity as she figured she could segue into how they only have 5 months to get the house sorted. That and talking to the girls, the discussion that Kate was dreading as she wanted Mike to know first and them as a couple to talk to the girls. She felt horrible that he was being left out of it all, even if it wasn't by choice.

"I feel I've stepped into the wrong conversation. So I'm going to take Scout for a walk." Jed said rising from the table.

"His leash is on the table by the door." Kate said as the women hid their smiles at Jed's discomfort but allowed him to go as their conversation was only going to get worse. They watched as Jed attached the leash to Scout's collar and then struggle to get the puppy out the door as he was more interested in sniffing the twins in the stroller than leaving the house. Jed not only to let it get in the way picked up Scout and took him out the front door.

"I called him my baby boy, I didn't have the same access to medical care as you girls did. But I did have Drano." Lena said after Jed left. Kate and Rachel both wore perplexed expressions at Lena's comment.

"What?" Kate asked she really didn't know how a pipe cleaning product could detect the gender of a baby. But she couldn't help curiosity getting the better of her.

"You mix your number one with Drano and if it turns brown it's a boy. If it doesn't change colour then it's a girl. We'll do it later." Lena assured her.

"We're not doing that. Ever. Sex of the baby will remain a surprise until either Mike comes home or the baby comes out of me whichever comes first." Kate promised her as she wore a wry smile. Rachel looked amused at that while Lena looked disappointed. She seemed to have her own idea of how things should be handled while Kate wanted to defer to Mike and see how things unfolded. Sure it would be better if the girls knew so they could adjust to the changes to the family dynamic but Kate was too tired and afraid to rock the boat given the past few months.

"Well we have to come up with a name other than 'The baby' until you and Michael decide on a name." Lena told her.

"How about Lena's grandbaby." Kate offered in a mockingly sweet manner, half hoping it would make Lena drop the topic.

"No, No, we can't do that." Lena said coyly as she was just a little too embarrassed to say that was a great name which was pretty amusing given Lena was not one to be shy.

"Well, we have 5 months to suss it out." Kate assured her, sure she had had a meltdown in the cafe when Jed and Rachel had bought her brunch before bringing her home. She was too exhausted and distracted to drive, so she was grateful for them taking care of her when they had their own lives to be dealing with.

"We should tell the girls tomorrow." Lena told her, Kate shook her head as she needed Mike to be there. She wanted to be a united front with him.

"I'd prefer to wait until Mike is home. I want him to know before them." Kate told her, something she knew was stupid to put her foot down on but she wanted to tell Mike privately and make sure they would be ok before everything went to hell. It was selfish but she wanted them to have a moment of joy. Well she hoped it was joy as she wasn't sure what she'd do if he wasn't happy about it.

"You're going to show at some point." Lena argued which was true but they had gotten away with 4 months of no baby bump so Kate was banking on at least a few weeks before it truly showed as baby bump.

"I realise that but I don't want Mike to be the last one to know in this family and we just won custody of the girls. They've had enough change for now. Let's just get things to settle down before we throw this at them." Kate told her.

"We'll discuss it another time." Lena said compromising in her own way as she didn't agree but wasn't going to argue about it right now given how much had happened in the last few days. Kate gave a nod and grateful smile for the reprieve.

"So Anna and Tex got engaged." Kate said changing the topic.

"Yes, someone mentioned a party here before I got roped into babysitting." Lena said in amusement as they just told her what was happening without asking for her input which she didn't mind at all as she liked to celebrate the good when one had a chance.

"Am I invited?" Rachel asked them as it was the first she was hearing about the party.

"Of course, everybody is invited. We also need you to make the sponge cakes." Kate said to her with a smile as it wasn't really true. Kate knew how to make sponge cakes but she couldn't help but put in a touch of amusement with Rachel who shook her head in amusement.

"Ah I knew I was called in this morning for another reason than to go to the doctor's with you." Rachel replied with a chuckle.

"I really appreciate you being there." Kate said to her sincerely.

"Anytime." Rachel promised her.

* * *

Mike laid back on his 'bed' which was the thinnest mattress and grubby blanket but it was better than nothing. Not that it got really cold where they were which told him it was somewhere tropical. But he'd stopped trying to guess where they were and right now he was distracted.

The images of the news video and the reporter's words playing through his head. He couldn't believe it but then a part of him did. It was like fate was personally against him. Then him with his idiotic command decisions, the one to go to the celebrations in Vietnam was a prime example.

He couldn't help but kick himself for not declining the invitation or sending a more mixed group of sailors so the ship wasn't without it's command. But he couldn't change that, just as he couldn't change the fact that Mason and who knew else had died for his poor choices as a Captain. It made him wonder if he was really made for a command; that maybe he was best as XO where he supported the person who made said decisions. He always felt stronger in the role of XO than when he stepped into the Captaincy but then he figured it was just a lack of practice in the role.

Either way, he was paying for it now as he had no idea when or if he'd get home. All he could think of was the things he was going to miss with the girls, how he'd set Kate up to become a widow again. Though apparently they were 'divorced' how that happened? he didn't know but he felt anger at Tom for not telling him, he thought his friend would at least inform him if his marriage was crumbling. Yes, their mission was important but Mike felt he'd deserved a chance to save his life back home after the sacrifices he'd made. He tried to think of what he'd done wrong but came up empty.

If Kate hated him enough to divorce him then why would she take and love the present of the dog? It just made no sense but he did know one thing. If- he shook his head ad corrected himself to when in his mind. When he got off this shit hole of an Island, he was booking in for emergency leave. He was going to go home and fix whatever needed repairing. He was going to get Kate to marry him again and sure as shit he wasn't going to miss the birth of next child.

The thought of another child coming into the world gave him mixed feelings as he thought of Lucas and how much the pain of losing him that Mike carried with him. But then that pain was separate to the swell of joy and the anticipation he surprisingly felt at thinking in five months he could holding another baby, his and Kate's baby. That he'd be home with girls and dealing with their antics as they adjusted to a new member in the family. He desperately wanted to get home to them; to be a part of the new chapter in their lives.

"Come on Tommy get your ass into gear and find us." Mike muttered quietly under his breath.

* * *

"She's not anywhere there's free wi-fi and she hasn't made contact. So I don't know where or who she'd turn to." Ravit said to Kara who'd just got off the phone. They'd been to Val's apartment and found it a mess. Someone had gone in and cleared out the electronic equipment and trashed the place. One would assume it had been robbed but the neighbour an elderly man complained to one of the men in suits about the racket. The mysterious man in a suit and his friends were the one's tearing up the place.

"Colonel Nash said Val hasn't been arrested at least not officially. But the police have been federalised which means they could have her but why would they take her into custody?" Kara asked her, she honestly couldn't think of any active government agency with men who wore suits to be active. CIA and FBI had been wiped out. NSA was barely operational and still in process of rebuilding. They didn't have the resources or man power to go after people. Plus Val was in the public eye, for her to just up and disappear would raise eyebrows.

"She's a hacker." Ravit reminded her.

"Everything she does is relatively above board and she wouldn't have evidence to incriminate herself." Kara said as she was trying to piece what they had together in her mind.

"You're forgetting that the police aren't ones to wear black suits and only send only Asian officers to raid a unit." Ravit pointed out, she looked around the street they were standing on, it was fairly quiet but then it was the middle of the day. Most people were at work.

"It could be coincidence that all of them were Asian." Kara offered playing devil's advocate.

"Or it isn't. It's not unheard of for foreign agencies to operate on American soil. Could be the MSS, Peng did send a virus to Lassiter Industries. Perhaps it infected the system and sent up a beacon to find her. She has the skills that could help rebuild a country's infrastructure or destroy it." Ravit said, something Kara couldn't argue as it was true.

* * *

"Hey," Tex said as he came home to find Anna in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea. He left his keys by the door and went to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"How was your day?" Anna asked as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck, she smiled as his beard tickled her sensitive skin of her neck. Anna smiled as pleasure tingled through her body and warmed in his embrace.

"Better now that you're here." Tex murmured as Anna melted back against him.

"You might not feel that way in a moment." Anna told him as she turned around his arms and faced him. Her arms snaked around his waist and held him close.

"Why?" Tex asked as he'd seen she was still wearing the ring he gave her over breakfast this morning with Kat present. He liked the original story but he felt Kat who'd helped him pick out the ring deserved to part of the story they'd tell other people. Anna was happy to pretend he hadn't asked the question the night before. She'd even looked like she was about to cry when he presented the ring and asking her to join him and Kat in being a legal member of the family.

"Things have gone pear shape. I volunteered to go to Japan and keep things calm over there." Anna told him.

"Ok, for how long?" Tex asked, not sure how to feel about it.

"Couple weeks at most, I was wondering... well hoping you and Kat might want to come with me." Anna said to him, she knew it was asking a lot at short notice but she hoped he said 'yes' as she didn't want to go alone. She would if she had to but she'd prefer if he and Kat were there.

"It means pulling Kat out of school." Tex said mulling over it.

"I know, it was just an idea. The country is still recovering but the streets are clean and some businesses are reopening. There are some survivors who are naturally immune who are repairing their lives. But it could be educational for Kat to immerse herself in another culture and I have no real reasons other than wanting you both there." Anna said as she mentally geared herself up for him to say 'no' but Tex gave her a soft smile as he brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"How about we ask Kat, if she doesn't want to go then I'll have to stay behind with her. If she's keen then we'll go. If not, we'll get a lot of practise with phone sex." Tex said wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

* * *

Sasha stepped into her and Jesse's quarters. She was surprised to find Jesse still awake given the hour and that she'd been piloting the Helo for majority of the day.

"Hey, they fix the ship?" Jesse asked as she put down the book she had been reading. She had been waiting for Sasha to return to the quarters to talk. She wanted to finish the conversation they had earlier before Danny had interrupted it.

"Yeah, we should be safe in an hour or so but Lassiter Industries has been compromised." Sasha said as she moved to wardrobe and opened it to pull out a large yellow 'Navy' PT t-shirt that she used for sleeping in. Sasha was grateful for the generosity of the Nathan James crew thanks to their lost and found; Sasha was rigged out with four outfits, boots and gear for running on missions on thanks to female marine who'd been stationed on the ship once upon a time. Luckily whoever that woman was had run fairly close in size to Sasha. So it worked out well for her.

"That isn't good." Jesse commented.

"No, without Lassiter Industries your resources have dried up." Sasha pointed out, Jesse nodded as it was true. The real reason their operations ever got a real chance of making a difference was thanks to the intel Sasha could gleam from Peng and Lassiter Industries footing the bill so to speak. Jesse knew that if she stayed in Asia continuing her brother's legacy it would be a lot harder than before. Then she had to wonder if she was really making a difference to balance out the losses she had taken.

"You know that you didn't answer my question earlier." Jesse said deciding that she needed to know the answer even it if was a hypothetical one. She didn't know how to be around Sasha. She had believed that Sasha betrayed her, that her brother and friends deaths were on Sasha for not warning them. But majority of the pain was just grief and anger at being left alone in the world. She also resented that Sasha had left her without much of a conversation, that it had been so easy for her to walk away from their relationship.

If Jesse was honest she remembered Sasha's reasons. She was burning out from the missions and living a double life, Jesse could see that Sasha wanted more. The problem with more presupposed one knew what it meant to have that. Jesse didn't, her lifestyle was transient and even as a kid she didn't know what it was like to live in a stable home. But Sasha did, something Jesse was envious of as she always wondered what it be like to actually have a home.

Not a place where one dumped their bags with bare minimum of furniture and searched for food only to find it was off. Where friends were more than colleagues from work who only wanted to sit around and bitch about the latest asshole they flew around the place. It was why she was at a bit of a crossroads. She could keep going as she was, flying around delivering cure but with no way of sourcing cure, no friends or family to ground her; she was just lost. But then there was Sasha, her only friend and yes they had a lot to work through, Jesse loved her deeply enough to give Sasha a second chance if she asked her for it.

"What question?" Sasha asked, she kicked off her boots and stuck them into wardrobe along with the socks. She continued to undress not caring given they'd seen each other naked so what was the point in being shy.

"The hypothetical one where I followed you to America." Jesse said as she watched Sasha taking in her underwear clad body; the smooth skin marred with scars that criss-crossed her back from her time in prison, scars from knife fights and bullets. Sasha had lived a very dangerous life in compared to Jesse. She became distracted as memories of tenderly kissing and licking each of those scars. She could still taste her skin, the feel of skin, hear the soft gasps and moans of her pleasure like it were yesterday. It was only until Sasha dragged the hideous t-shirt over her that Jesse snapped out of her memories focusing on the conversation.

"I asked you to come with me. Or at least think about it. Not follow me." Sasha said correcting her as she wanted Jesse to know she saw them as equals and if she did come to America with her that it wasn't a weak move on her part. She knew Jesse felt a lot of her strength came from being alone but it wasn't true. Her strength was just innate to who she was and how she survived life.

"Eitherway, if I did come with you..." She drawled as she rose from the bunk to stand facing Sasha. Sasha closed the wardrobe door and turned to Jesse. She didn't know if Jesse was testing her or being serious but she was going to have to just lay it out on the line instead of running. Even if it made things incredibly awkward for them.

"Jesse, I love you. That never changed, I left because I wanted- I want to settle down and live a quiet life. I knew you'd never leave your brother or your mission to help people. I certainly wasn't going to ask you to." Sasha told her, Jesse heart pounded erratically as she hadn't expected a declaration from Sasha. She wanted to reach out and touch her but their was a fragility in Sasha that stopped her.

"Rather selfish of you given you didn't let me have the chance to decide." Jesse told her, being brutal because it was how she operated and frankly she wanted to hurt Sasha so she understood how hurt she felt. Sasha licked her lips and looked away as Jesse's words stung but in her own way Jesse had a point. She just had no idea where this conversation was going.

"I didn't want you to compromise who you are to be with me. I didn't want you to resent me for making you give up your lifestyle for me. I admire you for what you do, what you give to your people. I just wanted out of that world, I want to be bored living like normal people, I want kids, I want my biggest problem to be a blocked toilet drain not the MSS kicking in my door." Sasha told her honestly.

"You think I don't want that either?" Jesse asked her, she wasn't going to admit out loud as it was weakness to her to admit she wanted things outside of her grasp but even without Sasha's answer she realised that there were some dreams she could have.

"I never know what you want until you tell me." Sasha told her as Jesse was a hard woman to read but on the other side, she was blunt and honest which made things easy especially when she communicated with her.

"What I wanted since you walked into that bar in Guangzhou hasn't changed much." Jesse told her as she touched Sasha's cheek. Jesse's stomach flip flopped at how hopeful and yet vulnerable Sasha looked in that moment.

Jesse wondered what she was getting herself into as this was very different from the first time. They had just been a hot fling that developed into something more. Now they were entering a very different kind of relationship. She stepped in and kissed Sasha softly. It was a kiss of promises, of new beginnings.

* * *

"How was your sleep?" Kate asked her as she sitting on the floor with Frankie in her lap and Scout in front of them. She had been making sure the puppy and baby were kind to one another in playing but thanks to Maddy's arrival Scout moved away from trying to Frankie's feet to say hello to Maddy.

"It was ok." Maddy said to her as she made herself comfortable on the floor. Kate leaned her back against the lounge for support and gently hugged Frankie around her middle as she looked Maddy. Rachel, the twins and Jed had left to go back to their house for a rest and wait for the kids to come home from school before they returned for the party. So it was just the three of them plus Scout.

"You need some more pain meds?" Kate asked as she pulled the sock monkey from the coffee table and handed it to Frankie to play with. The baby girl gurgled in joy and shoved the toy's head into her mouth or at least gave it her best go.

"Nope, are you pregnant?" Maddy asked her.

"What?" Kate said more out of shock of being asked than anything else.

"I saw it on my iPad. You went to the doctor's and the news say you're pregnant." Maddy told her.

"Yes, I am." Kate said deciding it was best to be honest instead of being caught in a lie later down the track. Maddy's jaw dropped in complete shock, she kept the stunned expression for nearly five seconds until she looked at Kate with an expression that was a mix of incredulity and disappointment.

"Are you kidding me?!" Maddy asked her incredulously. Kate wasn't sure whether to laugh or not but decided against it as Maddy tended to not like being treated as a child. Laughing seemed rather inappropriate for the moment.

"No, I have ultrasound pictures. I wanted to tell you and Zoe together. So what do you think about it?" Kate asked carefully.

"I think you're crazy." Maddy told her as she sat back and folded her arms across her chest and shook her head at Kate.

"Why?" Kate asked her, purely out of curiosity and trying not to smile.

"Babies are noisy and gross and they take up lots of attention. It's making you really sick like you don't even look pregnant, how are you going to make a baby when you're sick? Cause Mom got super fat when she was pregnant with Zoe which means you got a lot of work to do." Maddy said in a matter of fact manner.

"Well, not all women gain a lot of weight when they are pregnant and end up having healthy babies. But you're right, I need to take better care of myself." Kate said as she rose from the floor with Frankie in her arms and shifted the baby to her side. She moved to her bag and pulled out one of the ultrasound photos. Frankie went in for the grab but Kate held the photo out of her reach and went back to Maddy.

"Are you sure about this?" Maddy asked her, Kate couldn't help but chuckle a little as she made it sound like they were discussing an extravagant purchase like there was a choice in the matter. Sure, there was a choice but for Kate it was made when she saw the ultrasound and heard the heartbeat of the baby.

"Yes, I know it's probably not the greatest news hearing you're going to be a sibling again for you but I'm pretty happy about it." Kate said as she placed the photo on the coffee table not forcing Maddy to look at it but leaving the option to her.

"It's not like I get a choice." Maddy said in a resigned manner as Kate sat back down on the floor with Frankie and leaned back against the lounge again. Maddy eyed the photo on the table before she snatched it into her hands.

"You do get a choice. You get to choose how you feel about it." Kate said to Maddy, she wanted to say something a little more uplifting than 'Tough, this happening and you gotta live with it.' as that didn't seem like the appropriate comment. But Scout barked and ran over to front door just as it opened.

"We're home!" Zoe called out loudly as she raced over to them with Scout hot on her heels.

"Hey Zoe," Kate said to her.

"What's that?" Zoe asked looking at the photo in Maddy's hands. Scout ran back to Kate's side and thankfully followed her command of sitting as he was getting little over excited by all the kids gathering in one area. Though he already knew to steer clear of Frankie as she'd accidentally hit him on the nose. Though in fairness, Frankie was just flailing her arms around not intentionally hitting him.

"It's an ultrasound picture. Kate's having a baby." Maddy told Zoe, Lena looked to Kate with raised eyebrows as they hadn't really discussed how they were going to broach the subject with the girls. Kate gave a shrug as it wasn't her fault that her privacy was violated and turned into the morning news. Though she really had to look at the iPad's parental settings.

"A baby?" Zoe asked in confusion as she looked at Kate not really understanding.

"Yes, I'm having a baby. It's why I went to the Doctor's this morning as they wanted to make sure that the baby and I were doing. We're both well, and as long as rest and eat my greens then everything will be fine." Kate told Zoe.

"You can't have a baby." Zoe informed her.

"Why not?" Kate asked her, now she was confused as to what Zoe meant.

"Cause-" Zoe stuttered as she didn't know what to say for a moment but then figured it out and continued "cause... Daddy's not here. Mary only had a little brother and her Daddy is home all the time. Babies can only be made when both parents are at home all the time making it together. You can't make a baby when Daddy's not here." Zoe explained to Kate like she was missing several IQ points. Kate looked to Lena wondering what kind of sex talk they had as that didn't make any sense to her.

"Daddy and Kate made the baby and put it in her belly to grow before he left, he doesn't have to be here for the rest. The Mommy grows the baby, Dummy." Maddy clarified in a rather rude manner to Zoe using the girl's logic to help her understand. Kate couldn't help but feel a little like a fish out of water as she had no clue how to salvage this. Zoe looked between Maddy and Kate, her eyes filled with tears as she understood the situation but didn't like it all. In fact she looked betrayed.

"No, No! I don't like this!" Zoe told them firmly. "Nana!" Zoe called, she turned on her feet and climbed onto the lounge straight into Lena's lap and started to cry. Lena wrapped her arms around Zoe and exchanged sympathetic look with Kate as this wasn't good. In fact it wasn't exactly how Kate wanted it to go down. Frankly she had banked on Zoe being the excited but boy, was she wrong!

"Hey, why don't you want a baby brother or sister?" Lena asked Zoe.

"Cause!" Zoe said before she dissolved into a puddle of tears and buried her face in Lena's shirt. Maddy looked completely nonplussed about it all which Kate had to admit was probably the easier of the two reactions to handle. If anything, Kate now felt like an interloper and she was half tempted to take Frankie into the other room and wait for Zoe to digest the news and be resigned like Maddy.

"Well, could you at least look at the photo? You like babies and this one is going to be your little sister of brother. You'll be a big sister, won't that be great?" Lena asked Zoe in a gentle coaxing manner.

"No, it's not. I don't want a brother or sister." Zoe muffled as she kept her face turned away from them all.

"Well, you're entitled to feel that way but at least look at the photo. For me, please?" Lena asked her.

"No." Zoe told her before she continued to cry into Lena's embrace.

"Ok, well I want to look at the photo." Lena said, Maddy passed the photo up to her and Lena smiled at the picture. "It's a cute baby, I think she or he will be just as beautiful as all my other grandbabies. Now, I know you've both had a lot of upsets and changes at the moment but a baby is a good thing. It means our family is growing, we'll have another person to love who will love us back. I'm looking forward to it." Lena told them.

"But you won't have time for me." Zoe argued.

"We will always have time for you and Maddy." Lena assured Zoe as she brushed a thumb across Zoe's cheeks; wiping away the tears.

"It's true," Kate added, Frankie made a 'Gah' noise at the moment which made them all smile as it sounded like she was agreeing with them. "See Frankie is happy." Kate said as she looked down at Frankie and tickled her tummy eliciting a giggle from the baby.

"Frankie doesn't have siblings." Maddy pointed out.

"True, and I'm not like your Mom. The only big sister duties that are mandatory are to be kind to one another and have fun. Everything after that is voluntary am I understood?" Kate asked looking more at Maddy as she needed the little girl to know that this baby wasn't going to Maddy's responsibility to babysit or care for as she obviously did with Zoe.

"Yeah," Maddy said with a closed lip smile.

"I still don't want it." Zoe told her, Lena made a face behind Zoe's head showing her clear frustration but Kate was letting it go. She couldn't control Zoe's thoughts and she wasn't going bribe or force Zoe into anything she didn't want. She just hoped the little girl would accept the situation and learn to enjoy it.

"Fair enough, I understand what you're saying. I just hope you'll change your mind later down the track." Kate told Zoe with a kind smile as she felt they made some headway and now there weren't any secrets left in the family.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

* * *

Jacob turned the key in his front door glad for yet another day to be over. It seemed they all melded together as news was eventful but it didn't give him the same thrill of excitement and fulfilment he had before the pandemic. He used to thrive on the chase of the story, of unravelling the lies and finding the truth. But it no longer happened to him, yes he chased the stories but he felt like he was endless pulling on loose threads and finding nothing to pique his interest. He knew the real reason he'd lost his drive was due to the death of his wife and unborn child.

He needed to make sense of how the pandemic needed reasons, he needed something concrete to be able to feel as if their deaths were not random or senseless or shit luck. He wanted a person to point at and say 'It's your fault'. He knew it wouldn't bring them back but he felt it would at least bring him a small comfort. Anything to make his existence seem less pointless. It was why he was so driven to tear Michener to pieces as he wanted to be this flawless person to the public but he wasn't perfect, he made mistakes and lied to cover his backside. It turned out his suppositions on Michener's character only solidified by Ms Lassiter's rant at the very man. He was glad to report the news today on how Michener had pulled to pieces a company that had turned to helping the people in post-pandemic to help assuage the Regional leaders sore egos. What the Regional Leaders were sore about? Jacob had no clue but it had to be petty, it always was and it was always about how to give the one percenters back the world they lost.

He closed the door behind him, he didn't need to turn on the lights as he knew the place pretty well. He moved into his apartment the thoughts of the larger picture of what he knew playing in his mind. He placed his keys on the kitchen island and went to the fridge to crack a beer when a voice broke out in the dark.

"Finally, you're home." the voice grouched, Jacob picked up his shotgun that he kept by the kitchen island and flicked on the lights. His heart pounding a million miles an hour from the shock as he found Valerie Raymond A.K.A. Valkyrie laying on his lounge eating his last yogurt. The last yogurt he'd been saving for dinner but was now off the menu.

"Holy shit, how did you get in here?" Jacob asked her as he moved to turn on more lights to make sure she was alone. He didn't need anymore visitors but it also begged the question of what she was doing in his apartment.

"Really? You left your bedroom window open. Not exactly keeping yourself secure and seriously what's with the crazy conspiracy wallpaper?" Val pointed to his wall of 'crazy' as he was trying to figure out what the regional leaders were up to and Michener's plans for America. It also had back history on Lassiter Industries and the immunes as Jacob couldn't let go that their President ran with their enemy. Yet he still held his office. But now that he knew that Michener had gotten liver transplant from Ms Lassiter, he was starting to see a little more clearly on the subject. "You should know, I also unloaded the gun shells so point away all you want but that thing is pretty useless. Unless you plan to bludgeon me to death with it." Val said before she ate another spoonful of yogurt.

"There's an idea." Jacob grumbled as he put the gun down given it was useless. "And that wall is how I work on a story. It's my process. Is that my yogurt?" He asked her.

"Did you not learn to share in kindergarten?" She drawled mockingly as she ate another spoonful of yogurt.

"What are you doing here?" Jacob demanded as he wasn't going to answer that question when she was the one trespassing on his space and stealing his food.

"People are after me. This is the last place they'd look." Val informed him in a nonchalant tone.

"Here?" he asked her in disbelief, he moved to the windows and looked out to see who was following her because in the movies they tended to show up quickly.

"Yeah, I've been here all morning and not one bad guy until you showed up." She said with a satisfied smile. Jacob gave her a glower as she confessed to trespassing and calling him a 'bad guy'. "I figure you'd be able to help me given you're annoying and I have a story that will make your career. That and I need you to pass a message to Kate for me." Val added.

"What's the story?" Jacob asked her, he narrowed his eyes and waited for her to talk. He hoped she wasn't having him on as he like yogurt and she'd eaten the last of his rations' worth.

"I haven't got all the pieces together but the MSS have a spy in the White house and are passing information from the US to China via our own comms. network." Val told him like she was telling an boring everyday thing. This however was huge, he moved to his wall and looked at the information wondering how it tied together with what he knew. He didn't want to say it on National News yet but he felt there was a coup coming.

"It's illegal for the MSS to operate on US soil." Jacob told her.

"Tell that to the goons who tried to pick me up today when I finally broke the encryption on their communications. I wasn't able to track where the source of the comms was coming from but I think they were communicating Map co-ordinates using the What3Words app that was published just before the collapse of everything due to the pandemic. I've got GPS coordinates and all of them match up to major events." Val told him as she pointed to the atlas she had been using. Jacob moved to sit on the couch and looked at the map.

"Which major events?" Jacob asked her.

"This is where the Nathan James crew were kidnapped," Val pointed to her first dot, "The others I can't discuss but I think the Nathan James is in the Paracel Islands and they are being tracked or were until they went to EMCON." she told him.

"Are the kidnapped crew in the Paracel Islands?" Jacob asked her, he wondered how much he could disclose to the world but then he couldn't use Val as a source. She wasn't exactly legal in means of gaining information.

"Possibly or it's wild goose chase. You can't report that. If you do you're putting up a red flag telling Peng and Chinese fleet where to find them." Val told him.

"If the Old Court house is compromised-"

"Ah-ah, you can't go spreading the news just yet. I don't have solid proof as they could be using the court house as a relay station and be transmitting from somewhere else. The point being is that I need you to help me and in the end you'll have a great story. You in?" Val asked him.

* * *

"Rachel is making sponge cake in the kitchen. You ok?" Anna asked as she crawled into bed next to Kate. She'd only arrived ten minutes ago with Tex and Kat. The two didn't mind the impromptu celebration, probably because it meant no washing up involved for them. Something Anna couldn't complain about either. She just happy to be surrounded by friends and family. But she was worried about Kate, the woman could not catch a break unless one counted now where she was lying bed looking depressed as a Russian love story.

"Yeah, just tired and needed to lay down." Kate said to her as she rolled onto her back and gave a sigh. She was hiding but only because downstairs was too loud and busy for her to cope with given the lack of sleep and everything that had passed. She wanted to celebrate with everyone, she wanted to be happy but she needed the past couple hours just to decompress from the events of the day. At least Zoe wasn't crying or declaring her hate of the baby, the ultrasound photo was on the fridge with Zoe's drawings and Maddy's report card. So it was a move forward in the right direction.

"And fucking depressed because you're pregnant and your man is a hostage to a Pirate and-"

"Yeah, there are extenuating circumstances that required me to take a small time out." Kate said cutting Anna off as she didn't need a list to know why she was upstairs having a pity party than downstairs trying to be happy and normal.

"I know, it's sucks but we'll get through this. We always do." Anna said with a sigh as she looked up at the ceiling, there had to be a silver lining but right now she felt like she wasn't helping Kate much. But she felt once they cleared out the air of what was eating at Kate then she could feel better for having it acknowledged.

"I just need a moment to catch my breath." Kate told her, even though she'd been in bed for more than an hour. She was truly happy for everyone but she just felt the need to escape it. She also truly felt exhausted from lack of sleep and worrying.

"Tex and Kat are coming with me to Japan." Anna informed her.

"What?" Kate said surprised as she turned on her side and looked to Anna in surprise at the news.

"Yeah, it's only a couple weeks if that and it'll be fun." Anna said as if she, Tex and Kat were going to Disneyland not a pandemic ravaged country.

"Post pandemic Japan will be fun?" Kate asked sceptically, part of her really didn't want Anna to leave with Tex and Kat. It wasn't like they were moving for good, it was just until the mess of the mutation and possibly biological weapon was resolved. But she was selfish in wanting Anna to stick close by and help her through the mess as they'd worked everything out together when it came to the big stuff.

"Won't be so crowded." Anna offered, she and Kate looked at one another before they broke into laughter.

"That is horrible!" Kate said as she playfully pushed Anna.

"But true, Tex and Kat haven't been there before. I figure it could be a working holiday given I'll be working mostly at night to speak with you guys in the daytime here. I won't be without support over there which is nice for me." Anna said.

"Just be careful." Kate told her as she pulled Anna into her arms and hugged her. It went without saying that Anna wouldn't do anything dangerous and that she and Tex could take of each other and Kat. They were a well trained family unit.

"Please don't hump me, I'm not Mike." Anna told her, Kate smiled and threw a leg over just to mess with Anna for giggles.

"I think I know the difference between you and Mike. He smells better than you." Kate informed her.

"That just hurts, I showered this morning just for you. I don't do that for just anyone not even Tex and I'm marrying him." Anna deadpanned.

* * *

"You want to talk about what's eating you?" Garnett asked Mike as they were on watch duty to see what the camp was up to. The others in the hut were sleeping, Miller a little more fitfully than the others as his broken ankle was paining him. But he did his best to hide his pain as he didn't want to show weakness.

"Nothing more than the usual." Mike replied as he looked through one of the cracks in the wall. He wondered if the camp ever stopped moving. There didn't seem to be any point in the day or night when the camp grew silent. There was always people up like they didn't run on sleep or took shifts like they did but there's was more social than being on guard.

"Could have fooled me. What did Takehaya say?" Garnett asked, Mike could tell she was going to keep prodding him until she got answers.

"I told him to contact Kate. I figured if he could get his wife the medical attention she needs and if he wanted money for us then-"

"She could pay it. The joys of being married to the insanely rich people." Garnett quipped with a wry smile; finishing his sentence but giving her opinion at the same time.

"Yeah, but it turns out Kate is broke. The US government stripped her of everything." Mike told her, he couldn't help but feel his stomach twist at the knowledge that Kate was pregnant and without means. Sure, his Mom would help her as would Rachel and Tom's family but he hated that he learnt this news from Takehaya, he hated that he was stuck in this stupid camp being used as a blood bank.

"What? How?" Garnett asked him in shock and mild annoyance. Garnett was not a fan of Michener or his policies, she was however a big fan of Kate and Lassiter Industries as she was the one for intent and purpose kept them employed and was the reason the Nathan James and two other naval vessels were in service.

"Not sure, Takehaya just showed me a news clip on his phone. How he got reception all the way out here is something else that makes you wonder how far his reach is." Mike murmured, he didn't want to mention the pregnancy. He wanted to share good news when they were out of this hell hole, but it did motivate him to want to get off this rock even more quickly than before.

"Can't be too far away from civilization given we're in this shit hole than a proper facility." Garnett said.

"True, we need to choke their signal and let the James know where we are. Preferably today," Mike told her as he knew the James had to be close, they just needed to be close enough for them to hear the signal. Given Toshiro hadn't destroyed it meant it was close.

"I was going to suggest the same thing, I heard they had a torpedo and didn't sink the Nathan James but it means they have to be close enough for Toshiro to go out and come back within a day." Garnett surmised.

"Agreed, so you up for a run?" he asked her.

"Definitely." Garnett assured him with a smug smile.

* * *

"So no trace? That's got to be new for her given she leaves a mess in her wake everywhere she goes in the metaphorical and literal sense." Kate remarked to Kara and Ravit as they stood in her study discussing the disappearance of Val. Everyone else were in the rest of the house enjoying the celebration of Tex and Anna's engagement. It was definitely a party given the racket coming through the wall as the kids were playing loudly with Scout and the Adults were setting up dinner.

"It's unlike her. I keep wondering who'd she'd go to or even where." Kara said as she cuddled Frankie in her arms and bottle fed her; her dinner. But then none of them really knew Val well enough to come up with more than a place where there was a wi-fi connection. It wasn't unheard of for Val to disappear into her own world and not communicate for a couple of days but this was different given what they knew.

"Whoever came after her must be dangerous." Kate said as she blew out a breath. First her company was gone, Mrs Miller dead and Val missing. It was sounding like a conspiracy in the making as she couldn't help but feel like people tied to the Nathan James were being targeted. Val, Kate and Mrs Miller were the ones with the most power or were, so the next few days would be telling.

"I think it's the MSS." Ravit said.

"Why would they want her and risk China's relationship with the US for it?" Kara asked as it was clear the two had argued this topic before.

"Maybe she found something or She has skills they need. But whatever the reason; it's a ballsy move for Peng to try and acquire Val on US soil. He could've easily invited her to Hong Kong and held her captive." Kate said with a shrug, but even she couldn't dismiss the coincidences that were cropping up.

"Ladies, dinner time." Jed called through the door.

"There's nothing more we can do until she surfaces but apparently Lassiter Industries satellite systems and Valkyrie network are down." Kara said sharing what Samantha had told her over the phone a few hours ago.

"That's not our problem anymore and Val would never tear down the network. It's her platform to speak to the world and vice versa. I'd say that message Peng sent us wasn't so contained as we thought." Kate said to them,

"Why would Peng do that? He practically in love with you." Kara said.

"Because he wants dominance. I was a super power in my own right and now I'm nothing." Kate said with a shrug, "So let's go eat dinner and celebrate the good stuff." she added as she didn't want to think on it any further.

* * *

"Any updates?" Tom asked as he came into the CIC, he found Sasha pouring over maps with Mejia while Lt Commander Burk stood by Nishioka's shoulder looking at the UAV feeds. He'd had a restless sleep thinking about what was going on back home but also missing the kids and Rachel.

He knew his father was looking after them but he realized for the first time in many years that his drive was more centred to be at home than it was when it used to be directed to his sense of duty to the Navy. He hated leaving his family but being deployed and being able to focus solely on the mission. The sense of accomplishment in coming home, but all he felt now was an insane drive to get his people back and get home as fast as possible. It clawed at him as he felt the need to break every rule to make it happen and he frankly had a bad feeling about everything that happened that left him worried about home. The satellite system going down was a really bad sign in his books and they couldn't break EMCON to call home just yet. Not when they were close to recovering the hostages.

He was going to ignore the fact that Lt Granderson should've been in the CIC acting as TAO as he knew the woman's skills were put to better use being on the bridge. That and he'd seen her lacklustre attitude to the role of TAO. So he didn't see the point in pushing it. Instead, he asked Kirkland who while still green had the desire and gumption to be TAO when XO wasn't in the CIC. It was a role Kirkland was being groomed for, so it seemed smarter to give him the leg up than push Lt Granderson. Tom also didn't have the patience or time to help Granderson to see the bigger picture as it was her choice how she pursued her career.

"Well, we've just ruled out two of the islands we got from Peng." Sasha said to Tom as he sidled up next to her. He wondered if she'd gotten any sleep as she looked exhausted but he made no comment on it. as they could all rest when this was over and they were sailing home.

"UAV is finishing up a sweep of the third. Seeing scattered vegetation, fresh water, but no signs of human life." Lt Commander Burk said as he was watching the feed of the UAV on one of the big screens in CIC. Sasha and Tom turned to look at the feed playing to their left.

"Hang on. There. What's that?" Sasha asked as she pointed to the screen her tone hopeful.

"Wild birds." Tom informed her with a wry smile, she looked ready to punch him in the arm but instead folded them across her chest looking annoyed. It was clear she'd not had much experience looking at UAV footage but then Tom had to admit he had no clue what his sister was capable of.

"There goes option number three." Sasha remarked in a disappointed tone.

"I'll check in with the helo." Lt Commander Burk said, he picked up a headset on the desk by Nishioka. "Nomad, Nathan James. What's the status of Dragonfly?" he asked.

" _Bad news, Nathan James. It's almost completely under water."_ Jesse replied.

"How long till we reach Mantis?" Tom asked as he watched Mejjia cross another island off the map. It was starting to feel like a lost cause at the moment as they didn't have many islands left to search. Majority of those islands seemed too small for Takehaya's needs.

"At least an hour." Lt Commander Burk replied.

"Let's check the footage again, make sure we didn't miss anything." Tom told him, the man gave a nod and turned to his duties passing out orders to CIC. Tom made a move for the exit feeling the need for air only for Sasha to step in his way.

"Hey, we'll find them." Sasha assured Tom in a low voice.

"Takehaya knows we're coming. The longer we waste searching every island, the more time he has to disappear." Tom said to her, voicing his fears as Takehaya was like a ghost as Sasha had told him.

"We're going as fast as we can. Just gotta have a faith, we'll get there." Sasha promised him.

* * *

"Move it! Lots more to load onto the boats!" Toshiro ordered as he followed Mike and the others who were carrying boxes to the docks. He of course wasn't carrying anything. In fact the man was being a noisy waste of space in Mike's opinion.

"Hey, Toshiro, let me ask you something. Man to man. Pre-plague, who were you? I mean, before you became an asshole." Mike said to him, keeping his tone casual and light even though he wanted to smash the container he was carrying down on the man's head. But that wasn't the plan. The plan was Garnett was going to jam up the communications tower so it would send out static, they had to do it today as there was no telling where they'd end up if the James didn't find them before they were moved. It was really a now or never moment.

"Always asshole." Toshiro answered, Mike couldn't help but smile at comment given it seemed fairly true. He turned to face Toshiro, using his large frame and the box he was carrying to block Toshiro's vision just enough for Garnett to make a run as it was part of the plan.

"I mean, come on. You must have done something." Mike said to him, Toshiro sized him up for a moment before he spoke.

"I was a cook. I prepare fancy food for fancy Americans in a fancy hotel in Macao." Toshiro told him, Mike turned on his feet and kept walking glad that Toshiro hadn't paid close enough attention to realise Garnett was gone. "Everybody love my cooking. They say to me, 'Toshiro, how you cook so well?'." Toshiro chuckled as he fell into step with Mike "I laugh. But I don't tell them the truth. I never wash my hands after I take a dump. True story." Toshiro told him.

* * *

"They are still at EMCON." Samantha informed Michener who looked like he had aged about ten years in the last 12 hours. The press were eating him alive, the regional leaders were crawling up his ass expecting action and Iowa their main source for grains and ethanol was burning as they spoke. The riots had been quelled but the damage was done and Michener's leadership was not very popular at the moment.

"I thought they sent out a distress signal, it was how we located them. Could it be that the ship has sunk completely?" Michener asked Samantha.

"No, it turned off too quickly to have sunk. It wouldn't blink on for a few seconds and go dark so quickly even if the ship was destroyed or-"

"Or what? The Nathan James is sunk and the pirates haven't made any further demands. For all we know they are all dead which won't go over well with the public." Alex said from his chair, Samantha narrowed her eyes at the man as she wondered what the hell his job was as he seemed to not do anything except sit in the command centre pointing out everything that was going wrong and Paddy ploughing it.

"You can't announce anything until you have proof." Samantha told Michener, which was usually the protocol but it seemed that everything was hanging on the Nathan James to recover the hostages.

It didn't help the media was having a field day with Michener taking Lassiter Industries and Kate's pregnancy. They seemed to love tearing them to pieces while showing Mike Slattery's wife on a continuous loop playing the betrayed wife embroiled in a scandal. Her husband was hostage and his mistress was pregnant with his love child. Samantha rolled her eyes at all the inaccuracies in the news given the betrayed wife seemed to have plenty of time to be in front of camera instead of taking care of her own kids.

"Turn the other two destroyers to the South China Sea and find out what is going on. Tell the press that we're still working on it. The longer you're silent the more the press will persecute you. " Allison told Michener.

"I'm sorry, when did you get promoted to Senior Military Adviser?" Samantha asked Allison.

"It's the smart move." Allison said to Michener ignoring Samantha.

"It's a stupid move especially if it's a trap which it more than likely is. You also forget that we can't access the satellite systems and Valkyrie network is down which impedes our ability to communicate with our forces and track them overseas. So yes, let's sail our two destroyers out there and let them be sunk by the pirates too. Great plan for if you'd like to tank your administration further into the ground than it already has." Samantha said drily.

"Which is another reason to pull Lassiter and Hatake in." Allison remarked, Samantha made a derisive noise and threw her hands up in the air as she felt like she was surrounded by morons.

"Yet another stupid move as they handed over their communications and satellite systems to Valkyrie to maintain months ago. They have no idea what's going on and even if they did? they couldn't fix it. They are pilots not tech-heads. Valerie Raymond has disappeared, the network systems are currently corrupted with malware which is why we can't access them. That isn't her fault if the Immunes have resurfaced and are dismantling her communications systems. We should be searching for her a missing person not convict her." Samantha told them.

"The Immunes have disbanded." Michener argued, but Alex and Allison shifted uncomfortably which Samantha didn't miss given they normally would have said the same thing but their silence on the matter said they knew the truth. Which meant Michener didn't know or was blatantly ignoring the truth, something Samantha wasn't going to put up with.

"In America, they have or are we forgetting that the reason we're not welcome into majority of Europe and the UK is given that it's seized territory by the Immunes. They want nothing to do with a cure that helps the herd survive. Honestly, do any of you read the briefs that we write?" Samantha asked them, they'd tried to distribute the cure to Europe and the UK but they returned the cure with the clear message they wanted nothing to do with America or it's cure. Something which only meant one thing, the survivors didn't need the cure because they were immune.

"Please, the Immunes disbanded when MacDowell and the Ramsey Brothers died." Michener said,

"You do not take control of a whole continent and then go to America to convert people. You send your missionaries to do that." Samantha said to Michener in a matter of fact tone as she realized Allison and Alex had been blocking information from the military as they had been monitoring the situation from afar since they cleaned up the last dead-enders in America.

"And it's irrelevant to the situation as Valerie Raymond has a history of being against the government and this act of taking down the network has crippled us which makes her a terrorist. We should have the police track her down and bring her back." Alex said to Michener as if it were plan and simple solution to the problem.

"Yet another stupid move given Valerie Raymond has no qualms in shouting at the top of her lungs about what is wrong with the world." Samantha argued.

"What do you suggest we do? sit on our asses?" Allison asked her. Samantha turned to Michener who looked ready to quit for the night. Too many opinions and nothing concrete for him to move on left him stranded with indecision.

"Mr President, I've served for 6 of your predecessors, none of them would take biased and ill formed advice from their Chief of Staff or Secretary of International Affairs. chief staff is supposed be running your office not sitting on her backside giving commentary and the Secretary of International Affairs should only be called upon when you need advice on how to handle the current relations with another country when you want to piss them off. They attendance right now is redundant." Samantha reiterated to him.

"Oh so now you want to tell me how to do my job?" Allison asked darkly but Samantha ignored her.

"Sir, this is a military matter. Something neither of these two people can field any advice or experience on to help you. They are just creating noise. My advice is that you wait this out, if the Nathan James is sunk then so be it but we have to assume they are getting close to recovering the hostages. Give them 12 hours before you make any calls on the news you can't take back." Samantha informed him.

* * *

"All good?" Mike asked as Garnett was shoved into the room. Their duties of slogging boxes to the boats had suspended when Toshiro noticed Garnett missing.

"Yeah, just helping Takehaya's wife move equipment." She said as the guards left the room. The door shut and Mike gave a smile as they just needed the static to be picked up by the Nathan James. He knew it could be all for nought but right now he felt like he was giving Takehaya the one finger salute and it felt good.

"Do you think the Nathan James will hear us?" Miller asked them as they all knew the plan.

"They will." Mike promised him.

* * *

"Sir! I'm picking up something on HF." EWO Jaffe said from her station.

"Distress call?" Tom asked as he moved over to her station to see what she was looking at. She frowned as she listened to whatever the signal was on her headset.

"No, sir. I think maybe someone's putting out what sounds like line voltage on a radio broadcast antenna." She told him.

"Signal's emanating from 300 Relative 095 True." Lt Commander Burk said from his place as the crew of the CIC whad zeroed in on the signal. Tom felt himself buoy with relief and anticipation as this was what they needed. He moved to where Mejia and Sasha were standing and looked down at the map.

"That bearing intersects with only one island, Sir... Kumonosu." Mejia said as he traced a line across the map to show where the signal was bisecting.

"That's not one of the islands from Peng's map. In fact, it's at least 150 miles outside the search area." Sasha told him.

"Then Peng was wrong. Redirect a UAV to the new coordinates. It's a message from our people." Tom said as he knew it had to be their missing people.

"Or it's a trap. There's a reason Takehaya's a legend." Sasha cautioned him but Tom wasn't going to waste this chance being offered up to them.

"Either way that's the place." Tom told her, he moved to where the internal comms box was and picked up the phone receiver and dialled the bridge. "Bridge, CIC. Make course for Kumonosu Island." Tom ordered, he didn't want to waste any more time. Soon the sun would up, so they needed to get boots on the ground. He hung up the phone and moved to Lt Commander Burk's side. "I want every operator we can spare in the helo bay, geared up and ready to go by the time we can send RHIBs." he told her.

"Aye, Sir." Lt Commander Burk replied.

"Good, you'll be in charge as I'll be leading the mission." Tom informed him.

"Aye, Sir." He replied again, his confidence and strength showing as Tom saw that he made the right choice in XO. The man had the chops to be Captain one day.

"Sasha, with me." Tom ordered, she gave a nod and followed him out of CIC.

"You sure you should be leading the mission?" she asked him.

"Not again." Tom said with a chuckle as he felt they already covered this before. He knew he should be annoyed but they had a good chance of recovering the hostages. So he was filled with hope and promise. He just wanted it to pan out.

"Tom, you're not Captain Kirk and that you have to clear this by the President." Sasha reminded him.

"I know, but our comms are compromised. I have to find them, so you on board with me or staying behind?" Tom asked her. She looked at him like he was a complete moron. If she were a subordinate he'd make an example of such insubordination but cut her slack as she was his sister and technically not in the services.

"Please, I'm Army. I know how to fight on solid ground better than you know how." Sasha told him cockily, but he had to admit that she did have a leg up on him in that regard.

"Gear up, we should be there in a couple of hours. Wake up Jesse, we're going to need her on call." Tom told her.

"Yes, Sir." Sasha replied as she split off from him to do as he ordered.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

* * *

So have you picked a date?" Lena asked Anna and Tex, the dinner was going well and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The babies were as asleep in the guest bedroom. Frankie in her crib and the twins in their pram, the nightlight twinkling stars above them.

The kids gravitated to one end of the table having their own conversation with exception of Kat. She was engaging more with the conversation the adults were having while Ashley was making sure none of the children's conversation turned into squabbles; it showed the young adult she was becoming. Luckily the kids either discussed Scout, sport or trying to convince Zoe that a new baby wasn't a bad thing. Zoe seemed to be slowly swayed by Sammy and Ashley's comments more than Maddy's given they had twin newborns for siblings. Maddy was still in the resigned stage but KAte couldn't help but feel the little girl was worried about something but couldn't figure out what it could be.

"He only asked me this morning." Anna told Lena before she ate another bite of her dinner. They were nearing the end of the meal as most were finished with Dinner just waiting for the slow eaters to finish before dessert was served.

"In a month, something small and intimate. Kat will be my best man, Kate maid of honour, preferably indoors so weather isn't an issue and honeymoon in the suite of some fancy hotel." Tex said right after Anna without the slightest hesitation like he had prepared for the question.

"A month?" Anna asked him not surprised at all that he had thought about it. She just couldn't believe he thought they could plan a wedding no matter the size in under a month when they wouldn't be in the country for half of that time.

"Yeah, Kate's only going to get bigger and last thing we need is that kid sliding out during the ceremony." Tex told Anna in a matter of fact tone.

"Ew Dad." Kat told him making a face as Tex's tactlessness.

"I agree, that is gross." Kate said shaking her head at Tex who was smiling.

"Well, you're a tiny frame at the moment. So it's a matter of weeks before you're going to be showing and even more uncomfortable. I don't want to give Anna too much time to change her mind." Tex said with a smile.

"That is a risk if you stress me out too much." Anna drawled mockingly to Tex.

"I can't imagine what the bachelor party would look like with Kat as your Best man." Kara said with a smile as she pushed her plate away from her as she was full and enjoying the conversation.

"We're going to a barber shop, and Dad is getting his beard and hair trimmed followed by dinner at Outback Steak House." Kat said, Kara wore an impressed expression as it seemed like that Kat and Tex had already given this a lot of thought. She had a feeling that maybe they already had all the details and it was all about getting Anna on board without overloading her with information.

"Count me in." Jed said to Kat who gave him a nod as she was already complying a list of people to come to their little party. It was also dependent on how many people would be in town. But there was a plan even if her Dad wasn't a fan of the barbers.

"What's wrong with my beard?" Tex asked Kat with a frown not liking this idea. He stroked his beard proud of the growth he had going on as not many men could make a beard look so good in his opinion.

"It's getting a little feral." Kat told him, Tex looked to Anna to see what she thought as he knew the others at the table would only give him a good ribbing for being vain.

"It could use a bit of trim unless you're aiming for ZZ Top look then we'll have to push the wedding date further away." Anna remarked as she playfully tugged on his beard and then she smiled at him.

"Then the clock ticks until another life form apparently slides out of me."

"You should only be so lucky." Kara told her in a dry tone as Frankie hadn't been an easy labor or birth. But she did have a beautiful baby girl that majority of the time made her completely forget the trauma of that day, but she had to admit she wasn't chomping at the bit to have another baby anytime soon. She told herself maybe in another two years but she knew Danny might have different idea and they tended to not be spectacular at implementing birth control.

"We'll see how this Japan trip goes and plan from there." Anna said changing the topic as all the adults knew any further discussion on babies meant having to explain where babies came from. Sex talk with kids was not what any of them signed up for tonight. They were here for good laughs and food.

"Ok." Lena said looking slightly placated by the answers she was given. It amused Anna to no end how the woman insinuated herself into their lives like she were their mother who had expectations and dreams for them all.

"So when do you leave?" Rachel asked Anna and Tex.

"Tonight, in 4 hours." Anna said looking to the clock. They were cutting it close but it was a military plane so they didn't have to be there three hours before take off. A small luxury given they wouldn't be travelling in comfort as it was on a Hercules.

"You excited Kat?" Ravit asked the young girl, it wasn't like international travel was the adventure it once was.

"Yeah, I've never been to another country before let alone a military plane." Kat answered with a smile, it was easy to tell she was excited to go as Tex said Kat had packed her bag in less than 10 minutes after they asked her if she wanted to go. Kate had to admit she was a little jealous of the family as Kat seemed on board with everything in regards to Anna and Tex but then the girl was older. With age came a better understanding of the world.

"You're in for a treat. If even just a small fraction of the city is thriving it will be amazing and the food delicious." Kate told her.

"I'm hoping so." Kat said.

"Hey, did the police come to your house?" Ravit asked Rachel, turning the conversation to a topic they had been avoiding but Kate had to admit she was curious as she had been fielding calls all day about the hostile takeover by the US government. Mostly she was assuring her the people would retain their jobs, she just was no longer in charge. It actually pleased her a little that people were going to miss her.

"Yes, they were there to reclaim any Lassiter Industry property. They didn't find the laptop but then I buried it under dirty baby clothes. Apparently the police were game to sift through that basket." Rachel said with a smile as she felt pretty proud of herself.

* * *

Tom walked through the helo bay passing the men who were decked out in kevlar vests and BDU's. Guns laid out on a long series of tables in meticulous order. He watched as they packed ammo into their vests and some picked up their rifles making sure everything was to their own personal specifications even though all the guns were identical.

He stopped at Sasha's side watching as she packed extra ammo into her vest before she holstered her side arm into her thigh holster.

"Once we're gone, flight crew will pull out the bird. Jesse is drinking cherry cola and having her smoke as we speak." Sasha informed him in a low voice. She wasn't going to tell him how she woke Jesse up as he didn't need to know.

"It's barely 5am." Tom said as he couldn't imagine a worse way to start the day.

"We all have our morning rituals." She said with a quirk of her lips and gave a tilt of her head. "No worse than coffee with sugar." she offered.

"You good to go?" He asked her.

"You going to go around asking all the boys that?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow. She did have a point, he really needed to treat her the same as the others. As he would assume his sailors were ready to go before he entered the room.

"I only ask because you have my six and I like it preferably in one piece." Tom told her, he wondered why she looked surprised given she and he were a team when they went to Peng's mansion but this was a little different. Somehow, a lot more was riding on today than any other day.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you make it out relatively unscathed." she quipped, he gave faint smile before he moved to the front of the Helo bay by the flight deck doors. Everyone turned and looked at him, he took in their faces and felt incredibly humbled by their loyalty and dedication to the mission at hand.

* * *

"I can't believe this." Jacob said looking to the wall as Val had turned everything he had on it's head and somehow twisted it into a fairly well crafted conspiracy that was almost believable. Val had also absolutely destroyed his wall and put it back together in a very different way that made sense the pieces he'd been grabbing at. He assumed there was one leader and the Regional leaders were just lieutenants but Val proposed they were the consortium they always were but instead of working together.

They were using one another with series of complicated treaties to help turn their regions into their own sovereign states. With Michener growing unpopular and Lassiter Industries broken down into pieces to be given to the regional leaders meant there was now no companies or infrastructure commonly owned except for the railroads and roads connecting all the regions. But then Jacob knew the roads would soon be cut off as he'd found out that large concrete walls were going up along the borders. News he'd been sitting on as he didn't want to tip his hand and he also could find proof of who ordered the construction of the walls.

"I can't believe you were ever married." Val remarked as she was looking at a framed photo of him and his pregnant wife.

"Give me that!" he said as he snatched the photo frame out of her hands. "Can you just focus on this?" Jacob asked her gesturing to the wall in front of them. He placed the photo frame to another table with care wishing they didn't live in this world. Wishing his wife and child were alive as he felt his whole world would be exceedingly different.

"Sure, but I think we already know what's going on. It's a coup by the regional leaders with International assistance. They want to turn it into their paradise and screw the little people like Into the Badlands." Val told him.

"What?" he asked her blankly.

"The graphic novel?" she asked, Jacob gave her a blank look "How you could not know it looking at you and your choice of clothing is beyond me." Val said looking him over with obvious disdain and amusement which was contradictory.

"I don't read comics."

"Graphic Novel." Val corrected him but he ignored it.

"And all of this speculation. You have no proof-" Jacob started to say but Val cut him off.

"No, this is whole wall before I got here was speculation. I have proof by the way of Chinese dudes in suits chasing me and a signal coming out of the white. Your section is why you're not getting laid and will probably get killed." Val informed him, Jacob wore a dark expression.

"Gee, thank you but my sex life is not news." Jacob told her.

"I know given it's not happening and don't look at me. I'm not into the penis carrying members of society." Val told him.

"That is a relief." Jacob mumbled.

"Anyway, the regional leaders are using China to get rid of the Nathan James and Tom Chandler so he can't come back and 'fix' things. With them gone, the civilians are already pissed at Michener and he just isn't winning the public at all. So of course no one will mind when his coworkers stab him in the back. Figuratively speaking. I hope." Val said.

"No, they won't uproot the leadership. It would make America completely destabilise. They can't kick Michener out just because no one likes him, he has to be impeached for crimes-"

"So working with the immunes and illegally taking a liver isn't a crime?" Val asked with a blank expression even though her tone was scathing. She despised hypocrisy.

"He would claim that he unknowingly accepted a stolen liver and the Immunes seemed to have the best interests of the country and the means to bring the country back. Anyway it's all speculation that he was an active member who colluded with the enemy. Try finding an Immune who say otherwise under oath. They all disappeared when the Ramsey brothers were killed and Kevin MacDowell was taken into custody."

"Under oath? We're not taking this through the legal system. We're trying to get answers and possibly stop America from being plunged into some feudal type of society like 'Into the Badlands' with uglier people in suits."

* * *

"Copy that." Samantha said as she hung up the phone. She walked over to where Dennis was and sat down in the empty chair next to his. "Any updates?" she asked him.

"They are still at EMCON." Dennis answered.

"I got a whole building of people dedicated to that. I'm asking about the other situation with the noisy channel." She said, Dennis looked around the room only to see admin staff, Allison and Alex had disappeared when Michener called it a night.

"Val and I were walking on it. But then she disappeared. The thing is we figured out that it was some kind of encrypted messages. Here's a few I can remember. But there hasn't been anything new since the Nathan James went silent." Dennis said as he handed her a note pad. Samantha flipped it open and read the page.

"Random words." Samantha said not sure what to make of it. There was no real theme or pattern to the words on the page.

"Like I said, encrypted. Could be something really easy or complex. The thing is that there haven't been any patterns or repeated words. Also the reason the channel is noisy is that someone is using a computer generated voice to speak out the words." Dennis told her.

"So basically two people talking over one another everything becomes garbled but it also means our channels aren't as secure as they're supposed to be." Samantha said stating what they pretty much knew but it was worse given they couldn't block the signal.

"Yeah, another thing about that." Dennis said in a low voice.

"What?" she asked.

"I tracked the signal. It's coming from inside this building." Dennis said, Samantha looked at him for a long moment digesting that information.

"Can you narrow it down?" She asked.

"I wish I could but-" he shook his head. "It's impossible without a signal going out. Like I said it's dead at the moment. All that is going through is static to keep the channel garbled. It's not strong enough for me to pinpoint." Dennis told her.

"Keep an eye on it and I'll pass this to my people see if they can make heads or tails of it." Samantha said as she closed the notebook and pocketed it into her suit jacket.

"Ok." Dennis told her.

"Also, there anyway to track Val?" she asked him.

"No, she's too good. Sorry." Dennis said a little flustered and some what annoyed by it. But Samantha knew it was just ego.

"You'd tell me if you heard from her right?" Samantha asked.

"Yes." he promised her.

"Good." she said patting him on the shoulder before she rose from her chair and got back to her other duties.

* * *

"Any updates on Vulture team?" Cameron asked his brother, he'd kept Granderson on the bridge because they needed people where their strengths laid. While he appreciated the woman knew the Captain better than him, he also knew Granderson didn't have enough experience or gumption to make the hard calls. Yet, in time she'd get there but not today and he was greedy as he wanted to shine in his role as XO. But even he knew he wasn't doing the job exceptionally well given he was TAO and XO two roles that were supposed to be performed by two people. If anything it did cut down on time given he made all the decisions without having to consult another person.

"They've advanced two klicks inland. So far, no contacts." Burk said to him, Cameron appreciated that his brother understood that there was a definitive line between them. When they were on duty, they were professional an off duty brothers who could say anything to one another.

"Nishioka?" Cameron asked needed confirmation that there were no boats leaving the island or ships but then they hadn't had any hits on Radar or sonar which didn't mean much if the vessels were running at quiet one.

"Negative on surface and subsurface. There's nothing in the water." Nishioka replied.

"Sir? The static, it's gone." EWO Jaffe told him.

* * *

"Very Clever, yet so stupid." Takehaya told Mike as he threw the burnt twisted copper wiring to the ground. He had them all lined up and on their knees in the ground. Mike wondered how stupid their move was given Takehaya pulled a gun out and paced in front of them looking pissed off. The camp around them was slowly emptying of pirates as they were heading for their boats. "What did you seem to think you would gain?" Takehaya demanded.

"I expected our people to find us. You seriously think we'd be compliant to your needs, then you're a fool." Mike said antagonising the man so if anyone was going to take the blame it would be him. He just hoped it didn't cost him his life. Takehaya stopped pacing and stopped in front of Mike, he was about to say something when one of his men raced to his side and whispered something in his ear.

Takehaya pulled away from the man and spoke to Toshiro in rapid Japanese. It was clear something was going on and Mike couldn't help but feel elation as he could only think of one thing. The Nathan James was here and were going to find them. They would finally get to go home.

"Get them to the boats." Takehaya ordered but then he pointed at Rios and Miller. "You two will stay." he told them. Mike and the others made noises of protest but when the guns were raised and the intent clear they quietened and followed the pirates demands.

Mike just silently hoped the Nathan James was close enough to save them as he saw the glint in Takehaya's eyes. He was ready to kill one of them to satiate his anger.

* * *

 _"Vulture Team, Nathan James. Be advised, the signal has stopped. Proceed with caution."_ Lt Commander Burk told them over comms. Tom and the teams had made it to shore on the RHIB and had slowly been making their way through the dense bamboo brush. It wasn't an easy stroll and it made Tom wondered where they were heading or how Takehaya could hide all of his people out here but his answer was soon answered as the bamboo brush was starting to thin out.

"Copy, Nathan James. We've reached the camp perimeter. Commencing target assault." Tom said in a low tone, as Wolf motioned for them to stop and then used handgestures for 'dwellings'. Tom quietly as he could moved forward to see what Wolf was looking at. They'd made it to what looked to be an old and decrepit fishing village as there were half a dozen shanty style huts. There area was littered with trash and equipment as it seemed like whoever had been here had left in a hurry. There were steel drums that had been used for heat sources that were still smoking.

Tom looked to Wolf who was on point and read the hand signals. The man signalled the area before them was clear of life but looks could always be decieving. But Tom couldn't help but feel his stomach twist with cold dread as it was painfully quiet like they were heading into a trap.

Wolf counted down and with military precision the team proceeded forward through the bamboo brush with weapons raised. One by one they quietly moved through the area breaking down into pairs as they each took one of the huts and kicked in the door.

The teams called out "Clear!" seconds after they entered. Tom followed Sasha up to the second last hut. She kicked in the door and Tom proceeded first.

"Clear!" Tom announced loudly, he looked around the room as it looked like it belonged to one occupant. The room was neat and fairly clean, family mementos sat on a small wooden desk with old family photos and medals. There was a shrine with incense that were still burning. He looked to Sasha who was taking in the room, they both could feel the tension of being close and yet so infuriatingly far away from their goal of recovering the hostages. Tom wished he could know how far they were behind Takehaya and the others.

" _Vulture Team, we found another hut. 100 meters off the edge of the camp._ " Danny said over comms as Tom moved to the desk to take a look at the medal on the desk.

"Order of the Rising Sun." Sasha said to Tom as she saw the medal Tom was looking at. "They don't hand those out to just anyone." she added as she snapped the case close and shoved it into her vest.

"Souvenir?" he asked her as he wondered what possible worth it could have to her.

" _Clear._ " Danny announced over the comm.

"Serviceable intel requires proof. We can find out his identity from this medal. Next Hut?" she asked him. Tom gave a nod and gestured for her to go first. They walked out of the hut and down the the couple steps and moved onto the last hut in the line. Sasha quietly moved up the steps and turned her back to the door and looked to Tom.

He gave a nod and she kicked the door in and quickly stepped the side letting Tom go first.

"Clear!" She announced as it was clear no home, her eyes taking in the contents of the room.

"Nathan James, Vulture Team. Target is secure. This is definitely the place, but the prisoners are gone." Tom said over his radio. He took a look around the room, his rifle lowered as he felt like someone had sucker punched him. It was like some sick replication of an infirmary, medical machines, empty blood bags, IV equipment, medical supplies like surgical gloves and gauze litter the room. The room reeked of blood and it wasn't coming from the large pool of blood on the bed that had restraints. It was everywhere. Tom looked to Sasha.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded as a sickening feeling sunk into his stomach.

* * *

"This is the way to the docks. Our plan backfired. We're leaving even sooner." Garnett said to Mike in a low voice as she and the others stumbled and generally tried to slow down their progress. The stumbling however was geniunely as the bamboo brush was thick even with one guy up ahead hacking away at it. The problem was their footwear as flip flops weren't made for the terrain their traversing nor was it any easier with their hands tied.

"No. No way he'd leave his wife." Mike assured her, sure the plan might not be perfect but he knew one thing. Takehaya loved his wife an unborn child. If he didn't the man would have waited for Tom to show up and killed them all. The man had a long game and one that meant the survival of his family. So Mike knew Takehaya would go back for his wife, he'd never abandon. Not now, not ever.

"Master Chief, you need help?" Diaz asked, Mike turned around and watched as Jeter dropped to his knees, he was breathing heavily and looking pale. Not the best sign given the man had just been drained of his blood and moved mere minutes ago.

"I'm fine." Jeter assured them but he wasn't as Mike caught the man before he face planted into the ground.

"Takehaya, you just took this man's blood. He needs rest." Mike pleaded, Takehaya stopped in his walking and turned back to Mike.

"You did this to him. You and your trick with the radio tower. If he dies, it's your fault. Keep moving!" Takehaya ordered.

* * *

"Have a good time over there. If your Dad does anything stupid then pretend not to know him," Kate said to Kat as she hugged her goodbye. The evening had wound down as Jed, Rachel had taken their brood home. Maddy and Zoe were getting ready for bed having already said goodnight. Kara was inside settling Frankie down for night even bothering to go home while Ravit and Kate stood on the front porch far-welling Tex, Anna and Kat.

"I will." Kat said as they stepped apart. The three had been hugged and wished well by everyone.

"I heard that." Tex grumbled in good humor to Kate as they hugged one another, they stepped back and Kate couldn't help but feel sad that they were leaving. She knew it wasn't a permanent move but she was going to miss them for next couple of weeks. She was also a little envious as she wished she could escape St Louis but she knew she was just in a funk and once it passed she would feel better.

"Be safe, all three of you." Kate told them all.

"It's Japan not Afghanistan." Anna said in a pragmatic manner as she was not one to be emotional with good byes. If anything she liked to avoid them but there was no escaping tonight.

"You say that but it's a long flight." Kate pointed out to, something that made Anna grateful she had Tex and Kat going with her.

"Here," Lena said as she came out of the house and passed them a large canvas bag to Tex. "Food for the plane." she told them with a smile.

"Thanks Lena." Tex said as he looked inside the bag for a second.

"You're welcome and keep us in the loop on any wedding plans as we can get the ball rolling on this end. Quotes, paperwork, you name it we can do it." Lena added with a smile as she gestured to herself and Kate as well as Ravit who wore an expression that said 'I didn't sign up for that'. But she remained silent.

"That's very generous, and we'll definitely take you up on it." Anna said with a smile if only to get them going.

"Call me when you get there." Kate said to Anna as she pulled her into one last hug.

"I will." Anna assured her, giving Kate an awkward pat on the back before they pulled apart and frowned "Are you crying?" she asked Kate.

"No, I'm tired and my eyes are watering." Kate told her as she blinked her eyes to push the traitorous tears back.

"You know four months pregnant explains a lot of your mood swings and fatigue." Tex told her.

"Really?" Kate remarked drily.

"Oh that means it will be a girl. Girl babies are known to suck the beauty from their mothers." Lena said excitedly with a smile as she had already checked the Chinese Gender Calendar, the Mayan Calendar only to get mixed results. Now Tex helped her prove it was most likely going to be a girl because she was 'hormonal'. Kate just didn't have the heart to tell them that she was a woman and thus 'hormonal' was a constant state of being and normal.

"Wow, thank you for that." Kate said to both Lena and Tex. As Tex just spurred on Lena's want to know the sex of the shild and Lena just basically said Kate was ugly. At least it translated that way.

"Oh please, you have oodles of beautiful to spare." Lena said waving a dismissive hand at her.

"On that note, we're going to go." Anna told them. She, Tex and Kat moved to the car as the others on the doorstep waved goodbye.

* * *

"Nathan James, this is Vulture Team requesting updated intel from UAV. You see anyone out there?" Tom asked over the radio. The camp site was empty and judging by the fires that had been put out but were still smoking it hadn't been long. Something that begged the question of where the pirates were hiding as they hadn't fled to their vessels. Not like they knew where their ships were hiding as there was nothing on UAVs or radar.

The men kept their eyes to the dense bamboo forestry waiting for movement while his sister was wondering around the area. She stopped over to the far right and was touching the bamboo. He wondered if she had something.

" _That's a negative, Vulture Team, but we're still sweeping the island._ " Burk answered.

"Tom." She said motioning him over. He moved to her side and looked down at the bamboo sticks she was looking at. "It's fresh. I'd say bank blade or machete." Sasha added as the sap was still pouring out of the cut ends.

"Let's go!" Tom ordered.

* * *

"Nash," Samantha said answering her phone as she unlocked the door to her apartment.

"Ma'am, the prisoner transfer has been secured." Major Damon's voice said over the line.

"Copy that, did you get my message?" Samantha asked as she closed the door behind her and turned the locks. She moved into the small studio apartment kicking off her shoes and dropping her bag and keys in their usual place.

Major Damon her trusted XO had done the impossible for her by getting Milowsky transferred to St Louis with minimal fuss and no press which was a godsend. But it wouldn't last long given Allison knew about it, but right now Samantha wasn't going to think about that as she needed to sleep for two hours get in a run and head back to the office. Somewhere in between all that eat something.

"Yes, we're working on it but no joy." He told her, Samantha rubbed her eyes as she was bone tired. she wasn't expecting miracles on decoding the messages but she was secretly hoping for the mystery to be solved quickly.

"Keep me posted," she said, she hung up the phone. She looked at her bed and slowly sank down onto the mattress and gave a sigh as her body melted into the comfort and relief.

* * *

Sasha was third last in the line as they carefully made their way through the thick brush. Even hacked away by a machete it was difficult terrain. The area was eerily quiet in such a manner it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She looked down at the ground as she took care,; Tom wolf and Danny had the lead and were positioned so as to help those at the back take care as they were in a rocky section. She just stepped down from a large rock into the ditch when a shot rang out.

"Contact right!" Cruz shouted, Sasha felt Wallace's body brush her back as it fell to the ground. " Wallace down! Wallace down!" Cruz shouted as they all immediately dropped down into crouch with their weapons raised. Sasha gripped her rifle tightly, her finger resting on the trigger as she scanned the dense brush.

"Damn it! He's dead." Cruz said, Sasha moved changing her view and turning to her left to see if there was any sign of the enemy on the other side. She refused to look at Wallace and acknowledge how close she had been to being killed. It would only distract her.

"Nathan James, Vulture Team. Troops in contact 30 Mikes north of camp. Request support from UAV." Tom ordered. Sasha looked around but couldn't help but feel they were at a disadvantage as the dense brush made concealment easy for the enemy while they were following a track carved out. It made her wonder if maybe they were being lead into a kill box but mentally shook the thought away as the pirates didn't have enough time for that. This was guerrilla warfare, not a meticulous thought out attack otherwise they'd all be dead.

" _Copy, Vulture Team. Rerouting to get eyes on your location._ " Lt Commander Burk said over the line.

" _We got negative contact, Vulture Team. UAV's detecting no heat signatures within 500 yards of your location. You're all alone._ " Lt Burk told them, Tom looked around but everyone was shaking their head. They couldn't see anyone so he motioned for them to continue. They'd have to come back for Wallace given his death meant they were right on track for finding Takehaya and the hostages.

* * *

"How you doing, Diaz?" Mike asked the kid in a low voice, Diaz had managed to pick up a piece of cut bamboo was using it to cut through the ropes that tied his hands. They were sitting in a ragged looking fishing shed waiting for a boat to pick them up ad take them to one of Takehaya's vessels.

"Almost there, sir." Diaz told him.

"Hang in there, Master Chief." Garnett said to Jeter as the man was not looking well. He could barely sit up or keep his eyes open as exhaustion and blood loss took it's toll on him.

"Captain, when the time comes, get them to safety, no matter what. If I can't make it..." Jeter started but Mike cut him off.

"You're gonna make it." Mike told him, he was about to say more but one of the pirates slammed his rifle against the wall getting their attention.

"No more talk." he ordered them in broken English.

"Let them talk. Doesn't matter now. Soon it'll be over." Takehaya told them as he walked over to them. He didn't look well, in fact it looked like Takehaya needed another transfusion of blood. But even for his ailments, Takehaya looked smug like he figured he was going to win but Mike knew the man had no chance against Tom.

"It's not over till we're dead." Mike told him.

"Your friends will die, but you will live," Takehaya pointed at Mike. "And you'll be tied to me for as long as your heart pumps blood." Takehaya promised him.


	28. Chapter 28

_A/N: So yeah, I couldn't let Cruz go. I just love his bald head, good looks and yummy voice. Onto this lovely chapter. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

* * *

" _Vulture Team, we've increased the UAV search radius_." Lt Commander Burk informed were still following the path which was starting to get monotonous as there seemed to be no end in sight.

Sasha stepped forward and just as she turned to her left to scan and bobbed her head down just to feel a burst of sharp searing pain just above her temple before she heard the shot of the weapon. She fell backwards to the ground with a thud in complete shock.

"Cooper's down!" Danny called out. Sasha looked up at him feeling completely dazed by the past second as the pain became blinding as the shock she'd nearly been killed seeped into her bones. She didn't say a word or mutter even a groan as her brain struggled to compute what had just happened. She tried to get up but Danny was at her side in an instant pushing her back down as he kept his gun raised.

"Set perimeter!" Tom ordered as he rushed with the others to surround Sasha. Their shouting and adrenaline kicked in and her focus sharpened as the pain dulled down. She touched the side of her head and felt the blood and bone immediately assessing the wound as superficial. She could keep going at least until she ran out adrenaline.

"I'm good." she repeated as she pushed to her feet to prove it. Sure the world tilted slightly but she knew she had enough adrenaline in her to finish this mission. She moved into position for the perimeter pushing her body to move fast and ignoring her brain that said to slow down. They were in enemy territory after the hostages, she certainly wasn't going to slow them down over a small graze. At least that was what she was telling herself as she felt the blood soak into the collar of her shirt.

"How the hell did they get so close? They're picking us off one by one." Wolf said as he swung his rifle over his back and pulled out his side arm. They all scanned the surrounding area until Tom spotted movement. He fired off three shots until a man cried out and they all caught a glimpse of him.

Sasha took off as she saw the injured Pirate run. Adrenaline pumping through her system as she followed him through the thick bamboo brush until he disappeared. She slowed and took her surroundings until she spotted an area of grass and bamboo that was arranged to cover what looked to be a hole in the ground. Tom came up behind her and she knelt down on the ground and pointed to where she felt the pirate had gone.

"Son of a bitch. That's how they're getting the drop on us." Tom said out of breath as his sister ran like the wind even with her head wound. He pulled on his radio saving his lecture for her until they were in a better setting. "Be advised, the pirates are using tunnels. They're camouflaged by foliage. Split up and take them out." Tom ordered.

He looked to Sasha who gestured to a pocket on the back of her vest. He opened it and pulled out two grenades and pulled the pins, tossing them into the tunnel.

* * *

Explosions sounded a few kilometres away, Mike watched as Takehaya was shocked at the noise. It lifted his spirits because it meant that it wasn't the Pirates which meant it had to the Nathan James. They were saved or at least on their way.

One of Takehaya's men stumbled by the hut, shot in the arm it seemed from Mike's opinion. He listened even though it was futile as the men conversed in Japanese but even he could tell whatever plans Takehaya had were being squashed.

"Sounds like bad news. And you're looking a little weak." Mike remarked, Takehaya gave him a withering look as he spoke in Japanese to his comrades in a stern tone like he was giving orders before the group broke up to do as he ordered.

"Get up! Everyone, on your feet!" the larger of Takehaya's men told them as he bashed the mesh fence at the front of the shed in a scaring tactic to make them move.

Jeter struggled to get to his feet but Mike helped by using his shoulder to help the man until he was up on his feet. He looked to Garnett who rose and exited first followed by Jeter, Diaz and Mike, he ha to be last to cover Diaz as he was still cutting through his rope. It wasn't until they were a few metres out of the shed, Diaz pretended to miss a step and whispered.

"Free as a bird, Sir." He announced, Mike looked to his hands and saw the rope was loose. Mike counted the men around them wondering if he should tell the kid when to attack but right now surprise was their only advantage as it was two to one.

Mike watched as Diaz dropped his rope and turned the cut bamboo piece in his hand around. He raced at the man ahead of him and stabbed him in the neck. The man dropped to his knees in shock of the injury as blood poured from the hollowed centre or the reed.

The other pirates saw the move and went to shot Diaz as he ran off but Garnett, Mike and Jeter did their best by knocking over as many pirates using their body weight. Fighting with their legs, kicking and disabling who they could as Diaz disappeared into the brush.

* * *

"You need to patch up that wound." Tom told her a low voice.

"You wouldn't superglue it and a bandage will hamper my line of vision. It's just a graze and practically scabbing. So let it go before you give me a headache." Sasha told him as she wished he would stop being a mother hen to her as he wouldn't be like this with the other men on the team.

She didn't see him busting Cruz's balls over the scratch he had on his forehead. They were definitely going to talk about the double standard she was getting as she expected better. But she knew she'd have to cut him slack given he was probably acting more as her brother than commanding officer.

" _We got two tunnels neutralized on the right flank_." Danny said over Comm. after two more explosions sounded. By the amount of noise they were making Takehaya would know they were close and that his tunnels were gone.

"Copy." Tom said, Sasha heard movement and raised her weapon ready when a second later a young man dressed in well worn pyjamas covered in blood spatter stepped into view. He immediately raised his hands.

"Tom?" Sasha asked him wondering whether to shoot the kid or not. She knew he had to be at least 18 but anyone under the age of 21 was and looked like a kid to her.

"Captain." the young man said in surprise and relief.

"Diaz." Tom said in recognition he stepped forward and Sasha stepped back taking his position in the perimeter. "I got Diaz on the main trail." Tom announced over comms. as he moved forward to Dias. "Where you coming from, Ray? Who's alive?" he demanded.

"This way." Diaz told them as he pointed to the direction he'd come from. Tom and Sasha followed as Diaz took the lead taking them towards where he left the others. Tom gave rough directions over the comms so the other teams could circle the position from wherever they were coming from. They slowed down as the sounds of men shouting in Japanese grew loudly. Tom could just make them out from where they stood in the brush. He stopped Diaz as any closer would give their position away.

" _Sir, we've reached the northwest perimeter. We are hearing hostiles and hostages_." Danny said over comm, Tom pulled his sidearm and passed it to Diaz as they needed all the help they could get as they were outnumbered and judging by the weaponry they were about equal.

"Copy that. Approaching from the south. Standby for smoke." Tom told them, he looked over his shoulder at Sasha who gave a nod, they raised their weapons and moved forward. They split off so as to cover more ground, Sasha moved quietly as she could until she was in a position with a clear view.

She could see the pirates were in some sort of stand off arguing over taking retribution as two of their soldiers laid dead on the ground. Garnett and Mike were forced into a kneel position on the ground with their hands behind their back while Jeter laid on the ground looking weak. Many of the pirates had their guns pointed at the hostages while some had theirs pointed at a Japanese man.

"I'll go after them, but first things first, I want to kill the son of a bitch! He killed one of ours. What's right is right." one of the Pirates said as he pointed his rifle at Jeter's head. Sasha pulled a smoke bomb from her vest not wasting time and pulled the pin.

"No. Don't. You son of a bitch! No!" Mike shouted at the Japanese man in the black shirt. Sasha figured him to be Takehaya as why would the Captain plead with a nobody.

"Do it. " the Japanese man ordered. Sasha threw her smoke bomb into the clearing as Tom fired a bullet into the man trying to shoot Jeter. He fell the ground, the other pirates took cover and fired into the brush. Sasha fired her rifle taking out the men closest to her as more smoke bombs flew into the area obscuring her vision.

Machine fire and men shouting continued as smoke covered the area but Sasha progressed forward firing her weapon when a pirate popped out the smoke shooting at her. After what felt like less than ten minutes of firefighting the area grew quite and the smoke started slowly clear the area. Sasha looked around at the bodies on the ground.

"I've got five down." Sasha said over her radio as she quickly counted the bodies on the ground kicking thier weapons away from their bodies in case any of the were playing possum.

" _Four more over here._ " Cruz said over comm.

"Set perimeter." Tom ordered, as he listened to the count. He heard a familiar voice shout.

"That's all of them!" Mike shouted, Tom turned in the direction of the voice.

"Mike!" he called out, he heard grunting and rushed towards the noises and found his friend on the ground struggling to get up. Tom shouldered his rifle and pulled out his knife and cut the rope that bound Mike's hand behind his back.

"Except the leader." Mike told him.

"Takehaya?" Tom asked as he helped Mike to his feet.

"Yeah. He's the last one. Must have escaped through the woods." Mike informed him, as he leaned on the tree and placed a hand on Tom's shoulder steadying himself. He was in actually shock of seeing Tom as he knew they'd be found but living the reality brought forward a myriad of emotions and relief.

"Told you I was planning a visit." Tom told him with a smile. Mike couldn't help but smile too as he smacked him on the shoulder.

"Head count! Who's up?" Tom shouted at the top of his lungs to the area. Mike moved with him and looked around the area with him.

"Cooper... up!" Sasha called as she helped Garnett to her feet.

"Garnett, Jeter... up!" Garnett called as she and Sasha moved to Jeter to get him to his feet.

"Fiores, Swain... up!" the sailors called out.

"Green... up." Green shouted.

"Hume, Butler... up!" Butler called from their position.

"Cruz ... up!" Cruz called, Tom did a mental headcount an realised they were missing two crewmembers.

"Who's got Diaz and Taylor?!" Tom demanded.

"Diaz is down!" Taylor shouted from his position. Tom and Mike rushed to Taylor's position where he held onto Diaz's neck, blood welled from the side as it also came out his mouth as he was choking. His neck had been sliced by knife the fact he was still alive was feat but given the amount of blood loss there was no way he'd survive.

"Stick with me kid, think of the cool scar. The sheilas will love it." Taylor said to him as he tried vainly to keep pressure on the gauze. Danny passed him more gauze but it was doing nothing to stem the bleeding. Mike and Tom moved to the kid's side. Tears ran down the side of his face, he tried to speak but all that came out was noise of gurgling as more blood spilled from his lips.

"Ray, you did good. Just hang in there." Tom told him as he gripped the young man's hand in his. Diaz gave a half nod even though his eyes showed his panic. After a few moments Diaz's grip loosened and eyes became glazed. Wolf loosened grip on Ray's neck and sat back on his feet defeated.

Tom pushed the anger at the young man's death aside and pressed his palm to Diaz's face, closing his eyes. He rose to his feet and looked to Mike who mirrored exactly how he felt. Anger at the loss, guilt that they carried from being leaders and losing the people who served with them. Pain from knowing there was nothing they could do to save everyone. But there was something they could do. They could catch Takehaya and make him pay.

* * *

"Can't sleep?" Jed asked as he met Rachel in the kitchen. The kids were in bed, the twins sleeping so he had expected her to turn in for the night herself given how tired Rachel looked. But here she was still awake.

"I just have this horrible gut feeling." Rachel told Jed and she made herself a cup of tea hoping to settle her nerves. It felt like that time in Nicaragua when Tom had ordered her and Tex back to the ship while he and his team continued. Encountering El Toro; the first time they'd seen the ugly side of humanity rear it's head. But right now she couldn't help but feel Tom was in trouble and that something bad was coming their way.

"Too much cake?" Jed asked her, as he made himself a cup of coffee and joined her at the kitchen table. Rachel gave a smile and shook her head.

"Just worried about the future." She told him honestly as she looked at her tea waiting for it to cool down to a temperature that wouldn't give her second degree burns.

"What about it?" Jed asked her as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Don't you just have this terrible feeling that something bad is going to happen except you don't know what?" She asked him. Jed pondered on her question for a moment before he gave half a shrug.

"Sometimes, but then there's not much we can do from our end but take care of the kids and get on with life." Jed told her.

* * *

"A bunch of them had the virus. For some reason our blood helps them." Mike told Tom as they were trying to get their bearings. Diaz laid on the ground dead, reminding Tom that he wasn't the only loss of life on this island. But the young man's death hit him hard as he'd basically recruited the kid. He remembered how eager he'd been in wanting to serve his country. Now his life was cut short, it made him wish for home and to see Rachel and the kids.

"They didn't get the cure?" Tom asked Mike confused as to why they would need blood transfusions.

"Oh they got it but Takehaya thinks it's poison as it didn't work,. America used it to wipe out Japan." Mike told him.

"Makes no sense." Tom said to him.

"Tell me about it. He left Miller and Rios back at the camp. Miller is the wife's blood bank." Mike told him, Tom frowned at him.

"We already cleared the camp. There was no one there. Unless they're underground." Tom speculated.

"What?" Mike asked now taking turn in being confused.

"He's got tunnels. That's how they ambushed us. Maybe there's an entrance back at the camp we didn't see." Tom said to Mike, he moved to Sasha who stood with Garnett. Sasha was assessing the gunshot wound Garnett had to her shoulder. It seemed to be a clean shot as Garnett wasn't bleeding profusely and was still on her feet. But then Garnett was made of steel.

"Get everyone else to the extract point, then back to the ship." Tom told Sasha.

"Tom." Sasha started as she didn't like being benched. The wound was superficial, sure she had a headache but she was still good to go.

"You'll come back for us." Tom told her, she knew she could argue with him but kept her mouth shut and gave a nod acknowledging the orders.

"Cruz, Green, Taylor. You're with me." Tom said as he motioned for them, they'd have to head back to where the huts were and try to find the final two as he was sending Fiores, Butler and Hume back to the ship with Sasha. They'd then be able to bring the RHIB to pick them up afterwards.

"I'm not leaving without our boys." Mike told Tom, he'd just lost Diaz; not to mention the men who died at the nightclub and those who'd fallen victim to the search and rescue to recover him and the other hostages. He couldn't go back to the ship and wait for Tom to return. It a matter of his conscious and being able to face his crew. One thing he learned from Tom was that you didn't leave your people behind, you didn't let others do your grunt work not when you were able to.

Tom since to sense Mike's need to see this through and gave a nod. "We need to collect Wallace, you can use his gear." he told Mike, he turned to the other men and gave the last of his orders to mop up this rescue. Hume would help Sasha get Jeter, Garnett and Diaz's remains to the ship while Fiores and Hume followed them to collect Wallace.

* * *

"I rebooted it three times. It doesn't make any sense." Nishioka told Lt Commander Burk as they'd lost the UAV signal over five minutes ago and couldn't figure out why.

"Unless it's not the uplink." Lt Burk said as he stood with his brother looking over Nishioka's shoulder. It wasn't that they didn't trust his work but were just trying to brainstorm out a solution or reason to why they lost their UAV.

"Isolate and play back the last 20 frames of the UAV footage." Lt Commander Burk said, Nishioka did as he asked and the screen before they played the last 20 frames before they lost the signal. Everything seem normal until a grey blue obscured a corner of frame. "Stop, that grey area. Lieutenant Burk is right. This is no uplink issue." He said as there was only one explanation left.

"Could Takehaya have shot it down?" Nishioka asked looking to the Burke brothers.

"An RPG could do it if fired from the right location, but it'd have to be a hell of a dead shot." Lt Burk said looking to his brother, the kind of shot was near impossible to make. But it had been made.

"Whatever it was came from bearing 050 relative." Lt Commander Burk said as moved to Mejia's station. He looked at the map and pointed to the bearing. "Here. On the other side of the island." he concluded.

"There's nothing there but beach. The bogy didn't come from the island. It came from the water." Lt Burke said he looked to his brother with a frown. "Takehaya has a ship strong enough to take out a UAV?" he asked.

"Most likely given they shot us with a Torpedo." His brother answered.

"But we didn't catch it in the UAV sweep." Burk pointed out.

"Could have moved in while we were focused on our people." Lt Commander Burk told him.

* * *

"Here." Lena said as she offered Kate a cup of tea.

"Thanks." Kate said as she took the cup and placed it on the coffee table to cool down. If she were honest, she wasn't thirsty but couldn't be bothered rejecting it. She was sitting on the lounge with a sleeping Scout in her lap on a cushion. She was stroking the soft fur of his back. She knew she was setting up a bad habit for the puppy but there was something comforting about having him close. Maybe it was that he just loved everyone and didn't care about much other than being outside, eating and having someone to play with.

"They'll love the baby when it's here." Lena assured her, it was just the tip of ice burg of Kate's concerns. The baby was going to happen whether the girls got on board or not. She just felt she'd just have to keep her enthusiasm on the subject under a lid.

"I'm sure." Kate offered as she didn't know what to say.

"I'm happy about it." Lena said with a smile.

"Only if it's a girl." Kate told her with a wry expression given how much Lena was attached to the idea of a girl.

"No, I don't mind either way. But there are tests." Lena offered, Kate gave a tired chuckle.

"No tests." Kate told her.

"They are fun." Lena said with a grin.

"When you're not the pregnant one." Kate argued.

"So what's the plan?" Lena asked her as she took a sip of her tea.

"No plan, I can't help Val or Anna with whatever they are doing. I got no resources, no job." Kate said, the thought really bothered her as she was always a person of means, resources or at least skills. But now she had no means or resources and her skills were useless given there were pilots and soldiers. She couldn't o anything reckless as she had a baby to protect.

"Well, you do have a job which is growing that baby and being here with the girls and I." Lena told her.

"I know but you know what I mean." Kate said to her. Lena gave her a empathetic smile.

"I do, but you also need to take a break and just rest. You've been going non stop since I met you and you weren't in the best shape then." Lena reminded her.

"I hear you." Kate said as she did. There was something good to come out of all of the mess which was she did have more time for herself and to relax. She could rest without feeling like she was being pulled in several direction.

"Good, because I think those girls are more afraid of losing you than about gaining a sibling and they certainly don't one without the other." Lena added.

"Maddy thought I was crazy, and was just resigned to getting a sibling." Kate told her as she didn't really see the girls being scared of losing her. But it did explain maybe a fraction of their anger or lack of enthusiasm.

"She didn't get a choice with Zoe. It just happened without a discussion between Mike and Christina. But then we won't get into that." Lena said with a wry smile as they both knew that Mike hadn't had any say given he wasn't the biological father. He did however make a choice to be Zoe's father and stay in the marriage when he could have walked away.

"No, I'd prefer we don't." Kate said as she hated Christina for how she just tried destroyed everything around her.

"I still say it's a girl. There's cabbage in the fridge." Lena said changing the topic. Kate gave an exasperated sigh as she knew Lena was just doing it for fun but part of her really just wanted the sex to be a surprise. She also wanted Mike to there with her if they decided to find out beforehand and definitely at the birth.

"Why would I care about the cabbage? Is it going to open up with the baby inside it?" Kate asked her.

"No, we boil it in your wee and if it turns purple then it's a girl." Lena told her.

"You're really obsessed about this baby being a girl. It's also red cabbage which means it if you boiled it in water the liquid would turn purple even without my urine in it. This is so gross." Kate told her as she couldn't believe they were talking about this.

* * *

"There's a storage shed a couple hundred meters down this trail." Mike said as he took point, he wore Wallace's vest and gear. He didn't miss the fact he was wearing a dead man's boots which was usually bad luck. But even for that he felt more like himself in boots and a vest carrying a rifle. They made it back to the place Takehaya had been holding them, Mike couldn't wait to get Miller and Rios and just get home.

His priority was getting home, watching Diaz die just sent it home to him that he was tire of his job. He thought he wanted to be Captain but it was a title couldn't get comfortable in and all he could think of during his short imprisonment as a blood bank was what he was missing back home with Kate and the kids.

They barely made it into the central yard when gun fire erupted from the dense bamboo brush in front of them.

"Cover! Take cover!" Tom shouted, Mike followed him behind some wooden crates just as half a dozen men dressed in black erupted out of the brush running at them firing their weapons. The rest of the team took cover behind whatever they could find.

"Who are these guys?!" Mike asked as he fired his rifle at their enemy; taking out two men.

"Chinese Secret Service!" Tom answered over the noise.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Mike asked him, but Tom didn't answer the question as the wooden crate to Mike's right was hit with two bullets.

"Watch out! Six o'clock!" Wolf shouted, they looked over their shoulder seeing more soldiers pouring out from brush from where they had come. Mike wondered why there was a freaking army after them given the Chinese were supposed to be their allies.

"In the hooch! On me!" Tom ordered as he rose from his cover and fired his weapon. Mike laid down suppression fire as Tom dashed for the closest hut and took position at the door. Mike followed suit and stood beside Tom firing his weapon as the rest of the team made their way to the hut. Danny ran to the hut and shouldered the door, crashing into the hut, Wolf followed with Cruz on the rear. Once the boys were inside Tom and Mike joined them.

The MSS agents kept firing at the hut, their bullets sinking into the old wood. Mike slammed the door close behind him and moved as Danny and Wolf barricaded the door with a bench seat they'd ripped from the side wall. Cruz and Tom moved to the front of the hut looking out the front as the MSS had ceased firing for a moment. Probably to reload their weapons and strategise their next move.

"All teams, be advised, MSS is on the ground. The Chinese are on the island." Tom told the Nathan James.

"Looks like they are waiting for back up." Cruz announced as he peeked out a window that was covered in chicken wire mesh.

* * *

"Bridge, X.O. set Emcon Condition Alpha. Radio silence." Lt Commander Burk ordered, he hung up the receiver and picked up his headset. "Vulture Team, setting EMCON Condition Alpha. Keeping open channels bridge to bridge." he informed them.

" _Nathan James, what's the status of Cobra Team?_ " Tom asked over comm.

"The exfil was successful, and they're en route back to the ship. Working on an extract plan for you." he told the CNO, he couldn't believe it but the Chinese must have pinged their location from when the emergency beacon activated. But why they were lurking on the other side of the island just didn't gel.

Why would they just shoot down the UAV? When they could track it to the Nathan James' current location and take out the ship with a well placed missile. But instead they'd sent in ground troops to take out a small team of their people and the pirates.

"We have to give Vulture Team some backup, get a QRF team out there. The bird can be at the camp in five minutes." Lt Burk said to him.

"Do it, but make sure Jesse flies low enough to stay out of that ship's radar." Lt Commander Burk told him.

"Yes, Sir." Burk said as he ran out of the CIC. He raced through the ship to the Armoury and told the master of arms the guns as he came into the room. He pulled on his vest and loaded it with ammo before taking his weapon of choice and headed to the Helo bay.

When he got there he found Jesse standing at the open helo bay door staring at her helo with a cigarette in hand.

"Jesse, we're wheels up." he told her,

"We clear for green deck?" she asked him as she casually took a drag of her cigarette. He gave her an incredulous look as he wondered if she didn't see his need for her to move fast and the fact he was dressed for battle. If anything he felt like a kid dressed as superman begging his Mom to let him play outside.

"Yes, and you need to fly low. There's a Chinese vessel out there that will shoot us down if you ping on their radar." he told her.

"Ok, well what are you waiting for? Gold gilded invitation?" Jesse asked as she pushed off the wall, she flicked her cigarette but into the ocean and headed to the helo leaving Burk just a little gobsmacked. But he shook it off and raced to the Helo.

* * *

"I got eight approaching from the left flank!" Danny shouted as he crouched down to reload his weapon. The cacophony of gun fire, bullets hitting wood and men shouting was overwhelming. But training kicked in, even though their odds looked shit, they knew the Nathan James would send back up. They just had to stay alive long enough for it to happen.

"You picked a hell of a vacation spot!" Tom shouted at Mike.

"Rooms ain't much! Food's top notch!" Mike told him, they couldn't help but laugh at the joke even in the madness of the situation. Tom wondered how Peng had so many men in his service and was willing to lose them just kill him and the hostages. But now wasn't the time to pontificate on it as he killed another two MSS Agents.

They heard the whirring of a helo heading their way, he just hoped it was their people as they wouldn't have much of a hut to hide in soon given it was starting to fall to pieces from the firefight. He held his breath and then the sound gun fire sounded but instead of the sound of bullets hitting the hut, it was weirdly quiet. He looked out the hole in the wall he'd been using to see MSS agents being cut down.

"Nice timing, Nomad. How's it look out there?" Tom asked, relief washing through him as the Helo was indeed there.

" _Trying to clear you a path to the north._ " Burk told him, Tom listened as the gun fire towards them ceased for a moment an all they could hear was the whirring of the rotor blades and men groaning in pain. _"Bad news, Vulture Team. You got more hostiles approaching your whiskey... a lot of them!"_ Burk informed them over the radio.

Tom looked out the peep hole and saw the men running through the brush towards their position it had to be over twenty men.

* * *

"They're using the trees for cover!" Burk told the CNO as he laid down more weapon's fire. But it was useless as he couldn't see them in the dense brush of the outlaying areas of the camp. "I'm losing them in the brush!" he told Jesse.

"This is as close as I can get you!" She informed him.

"Then take us higher." Burk ordered, he could see Jesse tense at the order but she did as told and pulled the helo around to elevate them to a position that would give him a better vantage point to fire at the MSS agents. "Vulture Team, focus your firepower on the wave from the north. We'll take care of the rest. " he told the CNO and the others on the ground. As Jesse did her manuevre, he realised a crazy but optimal strategy that could work to their advantage.

"If we take a position that creates the right angle for the five-inch, Nathan James can take out the east flank. Once they lock onto our coordinates, we'll have plenty of time to scram." Burk said to Jesse, he knew it was a ballsy move but they were definitely outgunned with that they had right now and the team on the ground had to be running low on ammo.

"Got it!" Jesse told him as she did as ordered, he had to admit he liked her lack of resistance to an idea that could get them killed. But also a little scared about how apathetic she was to the entire venture.

"Nathan James, request you target our location and prepare to fire the five-inch." Burk said to the Nathan James.

* * *

"Copy that, Nomad." Lt Commander Burk said, he turned his attention to CIC ."Guns, T.A.O.. Slew EOSS and get a bearing and range on the helo." he told Nishioka.

"Guns, aye." Nishioka answered.

"Vulture Team, Nathan James. Preparing to fire on your whiskey. You need to clear south-southwest. Do you copy?" Lt Commander Burk asked, he waited as he watched Nishioka try and square his aiming on the Helo. But the Helo was too erratic in it's movements to stay in the aiming zone of the weapon.

" _We copy, Nathan James, but we're gonna need a minute_." CNO replied.

"Roger. Standing by." Lt Commander Burk told them.

"I got the helo. Calculating firing solution now. If they can hold steady, I can find a target and they can get out of the way. I can't lock on. The shift is too strong." Nishioka told him.

"Nomad, we can not lock target." Lt Commander Burk told his little brother and Jesse.

"Nathan James. Take your visual on us. We will hold position. Give us a count. You fire, we dive!" Lt Burk told them, Lt Commander Burk felt the tension in the room ratchet as they all realised the margin for error on such a move was very small. But they didn't have a choice in Lt Commander Burk's opinion and now was not the time to hesitate.

"Nomad, request approved. Expect incoming on my mark." He told Lt Burk.

"T.A.O., request batteries release on helo's position." Nishioka asked.

"Vulture Team, are you clear?" Lt Commander Burk asked, he looked over Nishioka's should at the helo carrying his brother.

" _Start the countdown_." CNO replied.

"Five, Four, Three,Two, One. Batteries release, kill target with guns!" Lt Commander Burk ordered not wasting a second once the 5 inch released it's round he shouted "Shot over!" and prayed like hell the Helo and Vulture team moved out of the way in time.


	29. Chapter 29

_A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! And also for still coming around to read this story. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

* * *

Tom coughed as he came to. The smell of smoke, burnt flesh filled the air around. His body panged with pain from the force of the explosion that had knocked him to the ground. He was definitely getting too old for this as his bones creaked at movement. He slowly pushed off the ground and took in the scene. The hut they had been in a few moments ago was completely obliterated, there were dead MSS agents on the ground. The area was quiet except for them an the Helo above them. Danny was kneeling beside Wolf asking him if he was alright. Cruz was already on his feet looking a little dazed, Tom's eyes landed on Mike who laid on the ground a few feet away from him.

"Mike. Mike! You okay?" Tom asked, he crawled over to Mike who was laying on his side and grabbed his knee giving it a shake to wake him up. Mike slowly stirred but didn't wake until Cruz and Danny lifted him up. He didn't seem to like it as he wore a crazed eye expression like he had accidentally fallen asleep and been caught.

"Never better." Mike said as he was helped to his feet. He nearly fell flat on his face except Cruz pulled on the strap of his kevlar vest stabilised him. Mike clamped a hand on the man's upper arm an gave him a grateful no as he found his balance.

"We're all good here, Sir." Wolf said as he joined them all. They were all a little shell-shocked from the blast an getting their equilibrium back.

"It's quiet." Tom remarked as he slowly got to his feet. There was no sound of anyone approaching their position. No sound of life bar them and the birds.

" _Kilo is clear! Target confirmed. Enemy appears to be neutralized. Nice shooting, Nathan James_!" Burk said over the comm.

"Green, Taylor, Cruz... secure the camp, find Miller and Rios. We're going after Takehaya." Tom told the men as he gesture that he and Mike were going.

"Yes, Sir." Danny said, Tom looked to Mike and gestured for him to take the lead as Mike most likely knew the camp better than him.

* * *

Kate gave a groan as Scout barked from behind his puppy gate in the bathroom. She really wanted to roll over and go back to sleep but it would be cruel to Scout who needed the bathroom. So she pushed off the covers and went to the bathroom and picked Scout up into her arms.

"We really need you to get bigger and have better control on your bladder." Kate grumbled to a squirming Scout as she made her way downstairs.

Once there, she unlocked the backdoor and released Scout to the ground. She watched him run around the backyard; sniffing trying to find a suitable spot. Kate had a feeling it would take awhile and sat down on the back veranda and leaned her back against the balcony post.

She shook her head as she really didn't understand why it could be so hard for him to pick a spot and just go. But she knew better than to rush him, she closed her eyes and slowly but unintentionally drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Tom and Mike had been searching for a couple hours but hadn't come up with even a clue as to where Takehaya was. Mike was burning with questions but knew they needed to be quiet as any conversation could give their position away. But it was hard to walk beside Tom and not ask him.

They came up to one of the huts on the outer edge of the camp an heard the brush rustle and a second later Miller ran out.

"Miller!" Tom called, the young man looked up at them with relief but that vanished quickly as Takehaya Ran of bushes to his left an grabbed Miller using him as a shield and positioned a gun to his neck.

"Whoa! Hold!" Mike shouted.

"Leave! Now!" Takehaya spat venomously at them.

"Let him go." Tom ordered.

"It's over, Takehaya." Mike added.

"What was it you said? It's not over till I'm dead." Takehaya sneered as he threw Mike's word back him. He held onto Miller and painfully jabbed the gun into Miller's neck.

"That can be arranged." Tom assured him, as he took aim at the man. He was ready to call an end to it. The only problem was that Miller was in the way.

Take him down! Don't worry about me, just take the shot!" Miller shouted, he tried to buck Takehaya off him but it didn't work. With the young man struggling it made taking the shot precarious as there were too many vital organs in the way. He glanced to Mike wondering if his vantage shot was better but Mike shook his head. Tom took a deep breath and was about to contemplate a shoulder wound when a pregnant woman; his wife shouted out in Japanese.

Rios and the woman in question came out from behind Takehaya, she could barely walk but she spoke in soft pleading tones to Takehaya. It was clear they loved one another as Takehaya looked completely conflicted and in pain. Takehaya looked back at her in fear and growled something in Japanese at her. She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"You don't want to die now. You have too much to live for." Mike said as he and Tom kept stepping forward in a slow an careful manner. His wife spoke to Takehaya once again, pleading for what Mike had no idea but he hoped she was on their side. She stepped forward to Takehaya and placed a hand of the gun he held.

He locked eyes with her and they seemed to have a silent conversation where she gave a nod. It was then he allowed her to push the weapon down and away from Miller.

Takehaya threw the weapon to the ground and shoved Miller away from him as he looked to his wife. Shame rolled off the both of them as Takehaya raised his hands in surrender.

* * *

Kate woke up with she felt something-well someone nudge her arm. She opened her eyes and winced at the how bright the backyard was looking. The sun was just rising, when one had little sleep it was the kind of light that made one just hate the world for not stopping.

"You shouldn't sleep outside. It's not safe at the best of times." Ravit told her as she held out a cup of tea and toast.

"Didn't mean to." Kate said, she had about to move but stopped as she realised Scout had made himself at home in her lap was still sleeping. So she took the cup of tea while Ravit sat down and placed the toast on the veranda next to her. Scout continued to snooze as they ate and drank their beverages in a companionable silence.

"What's on the agenda today?" Kate said as she scratched Scout behind the ear, the puppy snuggled deeper into her and gave a snuffle.

"Day off until Val sends up a flare. I think we should keep a low profile as possible. Something is brewing." Ravit said as she looked out to the backyard like it contained all the answers.

"Is this a gut feeling?" Kate asked her.

"Yes, my time as a soldier taught me anything. A coup is on the way." Ravit said.

"That's a leap." Kate said.

"I've seen how governments are overthrown for less than what Michener has done. Taking your company like he did, the MSS appearing on US soil means there is something bigger at play here. Someone pulling the puppet strings." Ravit told her.

"Ok, we'll keep ourselves out of it. We have potential for more collateral damage than before." Kate said as she took a sip of her tea. If it was just them, they could get into the thick of it but there were the kids to take care of and Kate decided with her pregnancy there was no way in hell she was going to put herself into unnecessary danger.

* * *

"XO, where are we?" Tom asked as he strolled into CIC. Sasha true to orders returned to Island with the RHIB and picked up Tom and the others. Takehaya was in isolated in quarters, his wife Kyoko was in the infirmary being treated for injuries. Mike and the rest were in the Helo bay were being treated by the support medical staff. The debrief would wait until they all had 12 hours to decompress. For now Tom wanted to worry more about the Chinese vessel than going over what happened on the island.

It was why he stopped by the CIC for a status report and moved to the navigator's station where Lt Commander Burke stood. The ship was at EMCON but Tom could hear the US trying to hail them.

"Based on the trajectory of the missile before it hit the UAV, we believe the Chinese ship is loitering here... on the northeast side of the island." Lt Commander Burk sai as he pointed to the map.

"Probably one of their destroyers. You pick up any signals on SLICK 32?" Tom asked him.

"No, Sir. So far, they've been quiet. Should we call St. Louis?" Lt Commander Burk asked him.

"We can't break EMCON. Not until we're out of their engagement zone. Tell the bridge to head South for open water at flank speed." Tom ordered.

Aye, sir." Lt Commander Burk answered as he moved to make the calls. Tom headed for the door and stopped. He turned on his feet and looked to the man.

"Good job today, XO." Tom told him.

"Thank you, Sir." Lt Commander Burk replied.

* * *

"How can she sleep?" Kat asked Tex as they'd been flying for over a few hours now and Anna had dozed off before take off. She shifted in the bucket seat as it wasn't comfortable at all. At least there was a toilet as Kat had no idea what to expect. But for all that it was pretty exciting to get away to somewhere she'd never been before.

"Army, they teach you to sleep anywhere, anytime." Tex told her, it wasn't really in the training manual but it was something a person learned in the Military just for their own sanity.

"Can you do that?" Kat asked out of curiosity as Tex normally didn't talk about his work or time in the Army.

"Yeah, when you're in a combat zone. You gotta get your sleep where you can." he explained to her with a wry smile. He didn't miss those days. He missed the people, the friends he'd made. The good times of levity and joy in all the chaos and misery. His career made him the man he was. But he was glad to be out of it, he was glad to finally be at peace with who he was and to have Anna; a woman who understood him. He also loved that the two most important women in his life got along.

"It's going to alright over there right?" Kat asked, knowing it was too late to ask.

"Yeah, they're pretty fastidious people. Very polite and caring people. Just follow Anna's lead an be respectful." Tex said.

"Have you been to Japan before?" Kat asked him.

"A couple of times for work. It's a pretty amazing place. I just wish you could have travelled the world before the virus. The things you'd see, the people you'd meet." Tex said to her.

"Are you seriously quoting Dr Seuss?" Kat asked him.

"It's apt an we'll have fun no matter what." Tex told her with a smile.

* * *

"How many we lose looking for us?" Mike asked Tom, he couldn't find a comfortable spot as he sat on the floor of the helo that was parked on the flight deck. The sun was sinking into the ocean calling an end to a very long day.

"Kudelski in the minefield. On the island... Wallace, Diaz." Tom told him as he looked out to the horizon because he couldn't stand the sight of pain written in Mike's features.

"All my fault. Never should have gone in that nightclub." Mike said in a pained voice as he felt the burden of the decisions he made. He felt the loss of the men, Ray's death cutting the deepest as he was so young and full of promise.

He hated the loss of life but as Captain it seemed to weigh heavier on him than it had when he was XO. He knew it was that as XO he didn't make the final decision so was not always down to him. It would weigh on Tom or the higher up but there were no excuses now. Nothing could ease the anger and guilt eating him up.

"They were coming for us, Mike, no matter what we did. " Tom told him, trying to assuage his guilt as he knew how it felt to carrying the deaths of people under his command. But at some point one had to let them go, otherwise it'd drive one insane. The burden of Command was that you were at some point ordering people into situations where they could and would most likely die.

"Who? The Chinese, Vietnamese, Takehaya? What the hell's going on, Tom?" Mike asked him incredulously.

"That's what we're going to find out. Get some rest. When you're ready, ship's yours." Tom said, he turned to walk away but Mike spoke up.

"When were you going to tell me?" he asked him, Tom turned and faced him. He saw the betrayal on his best friend's features and knew exactly what he thinking. Years of being friends and at each other's sides on duty in the the thick of it.

"She's pregnant and you let her divorce me without one damn word." Mike said to him in a low pained voice. Letting Tom know he was pissed, Tom didn't looked surprised in fact he seemed resigned to Mike being pissed.

"She didn't divorce you. Your marriage was dissolved because Christina returned and took it to court. The judge was on Christina's side; she got the house, the kids, your paycheck. Your mother managed to retain joint custody with weekend visitation rights. I didn't tell you because I needed you focussed on the mission." Tom told him, he felt like an asshole but it was that he thought more like a CNO than Mike's friend at the time. He also felt if Mike came home he'd not solve anything as Christina had the judge in her pocket.

"The mission? The one where anyone could step into my role for a few weeks while I was given emergency leave-"

"You know that's not true." Tom said cutting him off. They were low on personnel in general and only a small handful who might be able to step into the role of Captain but even then they weren't ready.

"My life fell apart and you kept it from me. You didn't even give me a chance to fight for it." Mike told him bitterly as he could only imagine what Kate was feeling. Hell, he'd be lucky if she was still in St Louis when he got back. He'd deserved it and thought made the angry he felt towards Tom evaporate as Tom was just doing his job as CNO. Yes, it made him an asshole but it was business not personal.

"I know, I'm sorry." Tom told him sincerely.

"What about Kate?" Mike asked wondering if she got the same apology that did nothing to soothe the anger or pain he felt.

"She bounced back, she had her company-"

"Which the US government has taken from her. Takehaya had the news on his mobile phone. I learnt my wife is pregnant from a fucking pirate. So how about you just be straight with me." Mike told him, Tom pursed his lips and looked down trying to buy himself time but he could tell Mike just wanted to punish them both by talking about this now. But he owed Mike the truth.

He moved to the Helo and sat down next to Mike, he looked out to the sunset and the dimming sky line. He had wanted to gloss over it all but know felt it was the wrong route to go. Mike deserved better after all the years of loyalty and friendship they had between them.

"She was painted as mentally unstable woman suffering from PTSD. She was vilified in the press even while she was doing her best with Lassiter Industries. People like a scandal more than charity and good will work. It's been tough on her, but she's still very active in helping everyone around her." Tom told her.

"My kids?" Mike asked him.

"They have had better days. But they see your mother every weekend. They are healthy, happy and they miss you." Tom said.

"So is the dog really with Kate? or was that another lie?" Mike asked.

"He's with Kate. He's a happy puppy. Kate loved him. She guessed she was 12 weeks pregnant. We haven't had contact with home for a while and the satellite network is down. It infected our system with a virus. So learning that the company has been taken from her makes some sense." Tom told him.

"So we can't call home." Mike stated bitterly as he needed to hear his family's voices. He needed to hear Kate's voice and know all was well as it could be given the situation.

"Not yet. We got a Chinese Destroyer out there." Tom told him as he used his thumb to scratch the bottom of his jaw. He looked out to the horizon and gave a sigh as this whole mission from Hong Kong to here was just too much for him. He wished there was some rhyme or reason for what was going on.

"Great." Mike remarked.

"We'll get home." Tom promised him.

"We better cause I apparently got a lot of shit that needs sorting out." Mike told him. Tom nodded as he wanted the exact same thing.

"So who's the brunette talking to Jeter? She looks familiar." Mike said as he tipped his head in direction of the open helo door where Sasha was sitting on an upturned milk crate talking to the Master Chief. She'd been checked by a medic, her head wound hadn't needed stitches or even a band aid. She'd had a showered and cleaned up. Her hair out loose obviously to not stress her wound and to hide it as her temple and forehead were bruised, but even so she was smiling and introducing herself to his people.

"Sasha." Tom answered.

"Your MIA sister?" Mike asked in disbelief. He'd only met Sasha once before but it well over a decade ago and if he were honest she hadn't been that memorable to him. Sure she was beautiful and had personality but then he'd been madly in love with Christina so all women were fairly unremarkable and unmemorable.

"Yeah, she's Army. DOD. She looks exactly like our Mom. It's why she looks familiar, I had a photo in Captain's stateroom during my command." Tom said to him. Mike gave a nod as he vaguely remembered the photos on Tom's desk at that time but it made sense.

"How did she end up here?" Mike asked him.

"She was the asset in Hong Kong. She survived the plague and has been working in a diplomatic role in Asia. She knows all the players, and their games. We're lucky to have her." Tom said openly admitting as much for the first time. But it was true. His sister was invaluable and he was glad she was here. Glad she was alive.

"Jed will be happy." Mike said.

"Yeah, he will." Tom said with a smile. "As long as we get home in one piece. A lot of water between here and home." Tom added.

* * *

"Colonel Nash," Michener said as he waved her into his office.

"Mr President." Samantha said in greeting as she walked into Michener's office. It was early morning and Michener seemed to be in good spirits given the situation of the Nathan James and the current state of the America.

"I'm told the Nathan James is still at EMCON." He said, Samantha handed him the current reports and projections on the situation in the South China Sea.

"Yes, they will remain that way until they believe they are no longer in imminent danger." Samantha told him.

"Tell me, when will I know which speech to use?" he asked her.

"Speech for what?" Samantha asked out of curiosity.

"Our success or failure." he stated.

"Sir, the Nathan James has met some pretty bad odds and come out the other side in goo shape. Keep faith and remember when you speak to the media that you don't have to tell them anything. Knowledge in this respect is a gift not an entitlement. That things take time. It's only been a few days." Samantha reminded him.

"You have thicker skin than I do." Michener commented as he sat back in his chair.

"If you had a press secretary then you wouldn't have this issue as they would field the questions. You have enough revenue to hire a full staff. I recommend you do so." Samantha told him.

* * *

"You had a close call." Jesse said to Sasha as she gently stroked the hair away from her face uncovering the wound that had scabbed over. They were laying down facing one another on the bottom bunk with their legs intertwined. It was fairly cramped but neither cared as they laid on the bed their fully clothed soaking in the peace of their sanctuary.

Both too geared from the day and not ready to call it a night. They could easily be making out and more but neither felt the need to reinforce the fact they were alive. Hot sex was great but Sasha loved it most when they just laid in one another's company. Frankly her injury gave her a throbbing headache, so she just wanted to lay with Jesse and rest.

"It won't scar." Sasha assured her as she took Jesse's hand and kissed her palm before intertwining their fingers and resting their hands on the small space between them.

"Yeah, cause that was my biggest concern." Jesse drawled mockingly as she smiled at Sasha. Sasha smile as she liked how Jesse never made her feel weak, she made her feel stronger with her trust and confidence in her abilities. They'd been through hell together and Jesse intrinsically understood Sasha's work and how dangerous was. There was concern and worry but it never seeped into their world as a dark cloud. It was just emotions that were acknowledged and tucked out of sight as it was useless to dwell on it.

"You scared for me?" Sasha asked.

"More scared for me. Your ship nearly shot me down. These people are crazier than I am." Jesse said making a face that made Sasha chuckle.

"I'm glad you weren't blown out of the sky." Sasha told her.

"Me too, the more I think about it. My helo is the last place I want to die." Jesse told her.

"So back to dying from lung cancer?" Sasha asked with a mocking smile.

"I'm not quitting. My Grandmother lived to be 100 and she drank and smoked majority of her life. Great genetics here." Jesse promised her.

"Well, just don't smoke around Tom's kids. My Dad won't care as long as you keep it outside of the house." Sasha said to her, already making plans for them even though they were nowhere near home.

"Done," Jesse told her, she loved it when Sasha talked about a future. When she lost her brother and friends. She'd really lost her way but when Sasha laid herself on the line and told her how she felt. Jesse couldn't help but feel herself come back alive and how Sasha talked about the future and her inclusion in it made her feel like she was moving forward with purpose. She still wanted revenge for the death of her brother and friends, she wanted Peng to die but it was good to know there was something after that for her to look forward to.

"So I saw you sitting with Taylor." Sasha said carefully.

"Yeah, he looked a little rough around the edges and we're sort of friends." Jesse said with a shrug, she propped her head up on her elbow and looked at Sasha sensing her discomfort. "I know you used to fuck him." She added, Sasha;s eyes went wide.

"Did he-?"

"No, I just know he's your type. He looks a little like your husband but more beefcake." Jesse said not hurt in the least because they had broken up and well frankly Wolf was nothing like her. If Sasha hooked up with a look alike then it would have stung but Wolf was player.

"He and I were nothing, it was just physical." Sasha told her.

"I'm not worried, in case you're wondering." Jesse assured her, she wasn't because she knew what Sasha wanted and Wolf wouldn't be able to give her that. While Jesse could, she also had Sasha's heart and love in it's entirety.

"Good, because I told him it was over. I only want you." Sasha informed Jesse.

"I know and you can say it; I'm better than him in the sack." Jesse said with a cocky grin. But she didn't get an answer as knock sounded at the door. Instead Sasha smile brilliantly and said nothing as she rose from the bunk and went to the door. She opened it and looked to the crewman.

"Ma'am, Doc Rios was hoping you could join him in the infirmary. He's having difficulties communicating with his patient." He informed her.

* * *

"You have to go to work." Val told Jacob as she ate the last of his bread.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked her as he barely had any coffee and the woman who was potentially handing a story that would put him down in the pages of history was eating him out of his house. There was nothing left to eat except a can of beans that was already open and half eaten. A used spoon still sticking out of it, Jacob didn't like sharing utensils with strangers which Val was to him even if they'd spent the last few hours together.

"What?" Val asked completely oblivious to why he was angry.

"You're eating everything. Do I have anything left in my kitchen?" he asked her. Val pulled out her wallet and placed a hundred dollars in twenties on the bench.

"There you go, buy some groceries and something pretty for yourself." She said with a snarky smile.

"Any man would be insulted but I'm too hungry to let my pride get the better of me." he said as he snapped up the money before she could take it back. Val chuckled at him and picked up the can of beans and ate a spoonful before she spoke again.

"Remember to drop my letter into Kara's mailbox but make sure no one sees you. So check all the cars on the street." She told him.

"Yeah, I know you've lectured me about it three times." Jacob told her.

"You're a man, and any mistake you make could get us both killed." She reminded him.

"Do I need to remind you that men do a lot of good in this world?" he asked Val as she was the biggest misandrist he' ever encountered. The only men she seemed to respect was Captain Chandler, his father and Tex Nolan. At least those were the few men she had good things to say about.

"Yeah, pat yourself on the back and not blow our thing at work ok?" Val asked him mockingly.

"Right, try not to trash the place while I'm gone." He told her as he checked his watch and noted that he really had to go. Val gave him a mocking wave as he picked up his briefcase and left the apartment.

* * *

"We'll have the funeral at first light." Jeter said to Mike, as Jeter saw Mike was looking at the body bags on the floor a few feet away from them. Even though they were completely exhausted, they were restless. Mike felt he was just wired with all the problems of what was happening in the US gnawing at him. Jeter and the others seemed to want to jump back into the thick of things on the ship to put the past few days behind them.

"You need to rest." Mike told him.

"I'm good. Ms Cooper passed my messages to the others. Arrangements are in the works, uniforms are being prepped. They will have their service and the CNO agreed that we should acknowledge the loss of life sooner than later. I agree, we need to keep moving forward." Jeter said to him.

"Yeah, ok." Mike said.

"The Burden of Command weighs on all our shoulders. But it is for us to bear as we're strong enough to do so." Jeter told him, Mike gave a sad smile as he wondered if he was strong enough to be Captain as he felt lost and undeserving. He'd lost more men in the past month than Tom had in over a year and he faced a pandemic.

"I hear you." Mike said acknowledging Jeter's words and his underlying meaning as he was saying he had faith in Mike and trusted him to do his duty. To have the strength and commitment to be Captain.

"Is something else bothering you?" Jeter asked him.

"Nothing pertinent to the mission." Mike assured him.

"Permission to speak to you as a friend?" he asked, Mike gave a tight smile as he liked that about Jeter. On the ship it was all by the book, when off the ship some rules became lax when the uniforms weren't being worn. They were friends, in fact Jeter had offered to officiate their marriage but he'd been visiting his in laws when Kate and Mike wanted to tie the knot. So he'd missed out but if Jeter had been in town, he would have performed the ceremony for them.

"Granted." Mike said.

"I'm here if you wish to talk." Jeter told him. Mike rubbed a hand over his tired face and gave a nod as it was probably the best time to talk given majority of the people in the room were sleeping or too out of it to be listening to them.

"Kate's pregnant." Mike said.

"Congratulations, I assume it's good news?" Jeter asked with a kind smile. Mike took a moment to really think about he felt. Seeing Jeter praise the news of Kate's pregnancy seemed to make less of source of angst. He'd been worried about her in the overall situation. But he did smile as he liked the idea of a baby with her, to share that with her and the kids was something he hadn't been sure he wanted. But now it was a reality and he did want it.

"Yes, it is. I'm just worried about her. Takehaya showed me the news from home. She was stripped of her company, the media wasn't kind. I just wish I could speak with her." Mike said in a low voice, showing the pain he was in and concern he felt as he felt completely isolated from not just the crew but also from home.

"She's one of the strongest women I've ever met. She will be get back to her feet much like the rest of us. I think the only concern would be getting you home in time for the birth." Jeter said.

"I'm hoping we're not gone too long. She's already 16 weeks along." Mike said wryly as he wanted to be home well and truly before the five months were up.

* * *

Rachel gnawed on her bottom lip as she looked over the information in the laptop trying to make heads or tails of it. She really wished she could be on the ground in Japan as she wanted to know first hand what she believed to be the issue.

It amazed her the new information she continually learned about the virus and people who were immune to it. It didn't help the Japanese people who were currently suffering the ill effects of what she believed to be a biological weapon. What amazed her was that Japanese population in America seemed to have an immunity to the virus while those in their home country had a smaller group of people with immunity to the virus.

It begged the question of how genetics and environment came into play to having immunity to one of the deadliest viruses to struck their planet. It was something that made her crave for more scientists like herself and Geneticists to still be alive. To solve the mystery would explain a lot as the gene that made Bertrise and the other people who were immune to the virus was different to the one in the Japanese population in America. At least she knew it was different as the people who were willing to submit blood for testing didn't have the same gene as Bertrise.

"Did you sleep at all?" Jed asked as he came into the kitchen.

"About 3 hours. The twins are still down for the moment. How was your sleep?" she asked as she closed the laptop and sat back in her chair and looked to him.

"Good." Jed said.

"You know that I can take care of the kids this morning if you want to hit the gym." Rachel offered, Jed gave a dark look as she was always reminding him to get out and exercise for the sake of staying fit and lowering his cholesterol and blood pressure.

"I'm good. I went for a long walk yesterday with Scout." Jed reminded her.

"I only suggest it because I want you around for a very long time. Healthy body means a healthy mind and heart." Rachel said with a smile as he'd said the same thing to her on numerous occasions when she'd been struggling with her pregnancy. Light exercise was the only thing that kept her sane when the pain of carrying twins took it's toll on her joints.

"I hear you, I figured I'd go over to Kate's and walk Scout for her again so she can rest." Jed said, he also wanted to check on Kate. She was like a daughter to him and felt the need to watch over her.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Rachel said with a smile.

"She's going to be ok, isn't she?" Jed asked, concern showing in his features, Rachel gave a nod.

"Yes, Kate will be fine. She's in good shape with everything she went through. Now Lassiter Industries is no more; well she had the time now to really rest and pull herself back together." Rachel assured him.

"How are you?" Jed asked her.

"I'm fine, a little tired but I'll sleep later. The work is a little preoccupying." Rachel said honestly as she saw no point in lying to Jed. The man saw right through it all.

"Ok, well I should start breakfast for the kids." he said, leaving Rachel to her thoughts as he went to potter around the room and get breakfast ready.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

* * *

"Sir, we've reached Macclesfield Bank, bearing 1-6-0." Mejia informed Tom as they stood on the bridge discussing their current course and how best to navigate the current area they were in. Knowing full well the Chinese were lurking around in the dark with them.

"Very well. Keep the islands to the north and manoeuvring options open. Steer clear of any bottlenecks if possible." Tom advised him.

"Yes, sir. I will." Mejia said, the interior door to bridge opened and Tom turned not surprised in the least to see Mike. He had obviously cleaned up and donned a uniform than taking the time to heal. But then Tom knew Mike, he was not a man to sit in his quarters and questions his decisions or the state of his personal life when he had his duties.

"Captain on the bridge." Granderson announced as Mike strode onto the bridge like he owned it. Tom met him half way and saw the fragility underneath the veneer he was showing the bridge crew. The crew went back to their duties and Mike looked to Tom with tired commiseration.

"My "take it easy" speeches never worked on you. Now I get it." Mike said in a low voice to him. He'd returned to his quarters and stared at the photos of his kids, of him and Kate. Part of him knew he could just downward spiral into pit of self loathing and guilt about what happened on the Island. For what was happening with Kate, what she'd endured in his absence because of him but he felt he didn't deserve the right to. He had a job to do, he had a purpose on this ship and hiding in his quarters helped no one. It was just a waste of time and energy that could be put to use.

"And the others?" Tom asked, Mike pressed his lips into a fine line as he saw them all in the mess. The chef had whipped them up a late meal. A meal that Mike declined given it was steak; too many bad memories. He wasn't the only one suffering, he'd watched the others from the galley. He wished he had the words to help them but he came up empty. Yes, he hid in the isolation of his role as Captain, he purposefully withdrew from them to protect himself. But he still felt their pain, but admired their strength too.

"They're taking the time they need." Mike told him, Tom gave a nod and turned to the business at hand.

"Kumonosu Island is 45 nautical miles in our rear view mirror. We're heading south-southeast at 25 knots. Still operating at EMCON Alpha One." Tom informed him.

"They must've been hiding on the northeast side of Takehaya's Island. We know what kind of ship?" Mike asked, he wondered idly where Takehaya's friends were given they had their leader. But left the question unasked as the Chinese ship was a bigger problem at the moment.

"Peng has four guided missile destroyers. We need to let POTUS know you're all alive and back on the ship. But first, we need to get far enough away from the Chinese so they don't track our broadcast and blow us out of the water." Tom told him.

"So we move as fast as possible. And our new house guest?" Mike asked in disgust as he referred to Takehaya.

"Doc Rios just pulled a bullet out of his arm. When he's ready, we'll talk." Tom said, he turned slightly to address the bridge crew as Mike was up to speed. "Attention in the pilot house. This is Captain Chandler. Captain Slattery has the ship." He informed them. He turned to Mike and they exchanged salutes before Tom left the bridge; leaving Mike to perform as Captain. He had to admit that felt a sense of loss handing the Nathan James back to Mike but knew the ship was in good hands.

* * *

" _Nash, speaking."_

 _"_ Colonel, it's Dr Scott." Rachel said as she held to the phone to her by her shoulder as she cleaned the kitchen up from the breakfast meal as Sammy had run too late in getting up and so Jed had to drive him to school.

" _I thought we were on a first name basis_." Samantha replied in a jovial manner on the phone.

"Sorry, you sounded very formal." Rachel commented as she adjusted her hold on the phone using her shoulder to prop it to her ear. She went to the twins and leaned over them in their bouncy chairs. She gave them a smile as they slept peacefully. Her heart just melted with immense love for them and she couldn't help but wonder why she never thought of having kids before now. But she wasn't going to have regrets as she had loved and lived her life well, being able to have Tom, the twins and his family was icing on top of the cake that was her life.

" _Force of habit. What can I do for you?_ " Samantha asked her.

"I was wondering if you had spoke with Dr Milowsky yet." Rachel said getting to the point of why she was calling. She'd given it a lot of thought as to how to help the Japanese people. She felt the issue they faced was a threat to all life on planet that were susceptible to virus. The fact she was set in that this was a biological weapon meant there was another scientist out there like Milowsky and Sorenson.

" _No, but he's been transferred to St Louis. I was hoping you might be able to prep me for the interrogation unless I can convince you to join me."_ Samantha said to her.

"I was hoping I could, Milosky has a superiority complex. So it might help to have me there to cut through the science. But I also have questions for him myself." Rachel said.

" _Ok, well, you name the time and I'll make it happen_." Samantha replied.

"Could we do it today?" Rachel asked her, she knew she was pushing her luck but she just wanted to get the conversation out of her way. To get seeing Milowsky off her mind and back to helping people.

" _Sure, when_?" Samantha asked.

"Two hours from now? Unless it's too soon?" Rachel asked, hoping it wasn't as she knew the twins could be fed, changed and back to sleep before Samantha arrived. She could also express some milk for Jed to give them later. She couldn't see herself spending more than an hour talking to Milowsky. She hoped no longer than an hour as her skin was already crawling at the thought of seeing him.

" _No, I'll clear my schedule and come over. I'd like to speak with you before we go if that's ok?"_ Samantha asked.

"Of course as you don't mind a messy home and small children." Rachel replied.

" _Not at all. I'll see you an hour."_ Samantha replied and then hung. Rachel pressed the end call button on her phone and replaced it back into it's holder. She moved to into the kitchen and saw Jed standing by the sink with a cup coffee. He had an expression that sad he knew exactly what was going on.

"Jed," She started.

"I heard, and I can look after the twins for you. Though wasn't Milowsky the one who-"

"Yes, he is." Rachel said, not needing the reminder that without his sick scientific experiment her daughters wouldn't have existed.

"You sure you want to see that man?" Jed asked skeptically, Rachel knew he was asking out of concern as majority of trauma survivors didn't want to confront their attacker. But in this case it was necessary, though Rachel didn't see it as a confrontation but more as her being a scientist loathingly having to ask for help.

"I barely remember that time." Rachel lied more for Jed's sake than her own as her curiousity and need to help others trumped what Milowsky had done to her. Frankly, she wasn't sorry she had the twins. So she could thank him for that even if she wished him a horribly slow and painful death. "Unlike Kate I was heavily drugged with normal metabolism. So it's a blank." she added.

"Does Kate know about him being here?" Jed asked, Rachel shook her head as she remembered Kate walking out of the room for her own sanity. Rachel had to admit she was proud of Kate for drawing a line in the sand for herself as she usually went above and beyond the call of duty.

"No, she left the room when it was being discussed. She doesn't want to think- let alone talk about it and I think it's for the best she doesn't know." Rachel said to him.

"True, that man doesn't deserve to breathe." Jed said, something Rachel agreed with him on.

"I know but he's the only other fully qualified and well published virologist in the world. He also has a strong background in Genetics and making vaccines. So we need him for the sake of helping those in Japan and any other country that's been attacked by this weapon who are suffering." Rachel said.

"You don't need to make excuses. Just be careful." Jed told her.

"I will, and right now I need a shower." Rachel said as she was happy the twins were sleeping to allow her the small luxury.

* * *

" _His name is Kaito, after his father._ " Kyoko told Sasha as they conversed in Japanese. she was hooked up to an IV drip, vital's monitor and with a nasal cannula that was flowing oxygen to her; to help her breathe. Kyoko was a very ill pregnant woman, she struggled to breath and sweated profusely even with all the fluids and drugs Rios was pushing; it didn't seem to help. But talking with Kyoko seemed to keep her calm and Sasha could tell she was lonely and afraid on the ship. So they conversed in soft tones and Sasha felt a slow friendship develop between them.

" _What a beautiful name._ " Sasha said with a soft smile as she held Kyoko's hand in her own. She gave it a gentle squeeze to reassure the woman everything was fine. Kyoko had been afraid and irrational when Sasha came to the infirmary but once Sasha assured her they were here to help her in Japanese. Kyoko calmed down and allowed Rios to do his job to help her and the baby.

" _How do you say it in English?_ " Kyoko asked her.

"Sailor." Sasha said with a soft smile.

"Sailor," Kyoko whispered shyly as she rubbed a hand over her stomach. The door to the infirmary opened and she looked over her shoulder to see Tom.

"How's she doing?" Sasha heard Tom ask Rios.

"I have to be judicious with the antimalarial treatment because of her pregnancy." Rios answered.

"Did you test her blood?" Tom asked.

"Yes, sir. Both Kyoko and her husband have the virus and the cure in their bloodstream." Rios told him.

" _Are they talking about me?_ " Kyoko asked her. Sasha gave a nod.

" _Yes, the Captain wishes to know how you are. The doctor is telling him." Sasha told her, believing honesty was the best policy_. Kyoko already knew the truth about her situation as Rios explained it and Sasha did her best to translate. There were some words that Sasha didn't have the vocabulary for but Kyoko understood the gist of things. She was gravelly ill, the baby was in danger and that she needed to rest. Her whole focus was on resting and making sure the baby lived.

" _What will happen to my baby_?" Kyoko asked Sasha.

"We have doctors working on a new cure. I'm confident they will be able to help you and others suffering as you are before it's too late." Sasha assured her.

" _But if I die_ -" Kyoko started but Sasha cut her off.

" _Don't even think about it. You're on the ship where the first cure was created. You have time, so let's focus on just staying relaxed and resting so your baby has more time with you like this_." Sasha advised her in a soft and gentle manner. Kyoko nodded and took a slow and deep breath.

* * *

"Did you test her blood?" Tom asked Rios as he looked to his sister talking to Kyoko. their newest pregnant woman on the ship. He still wasn't sure if she was an innocent victim in it all or an accessory to her husband's crimes.

"Yes, sir. Both Kyoko and her husband have the virus and the cure in their bloodstream. The cure is just not working." Rios said to him.

"Then you need to run more tests." Tom told Rios as he needed more answers as to why this was happening.

"Sir, now that Dr. Scott's lab is broken down, I don't have the equipment to do extensive blood work. And even if I did... I'm not Dr. Scott." He told Tom in a respectful but pragmatic tone.

"I'm not expecting you to create a cure in the infirmary. I just need more information. I spoke with Val, she said that this is not a mutation of the virus but something more sinister. I need to know that we're safe from it." Tom told him.

"Sir, I appreciate your confidence in my skills but virology is not my speciality." Rios informed him, Tom had to admit that he was asking too much from the man. Especially given he'd just gotten back from being a hostage. "Perhaps, it would be best to call home and inform them what we know so they can send a team to Okinawa." Rios suggested.

"I'll think on it. You do the best you can with what you got. I need more answers to what this is and keep me posted on her condition." Tom ordered.

"Yes, Sir." Rios replied.

* * *

Mike sat perched on the edge of his chair looking out the front window of the bridge. He was trying to keep focused on the task at hand but his mind drifted to Kate and the kids. He felt a deep seated desperation to get home but had to push it to the side as nothing in the Navy moved quickly. The ship could only sail so fast and it would never be fast enough for him. They also had the problem of being in dangerous waters.

"Bridge, CIC. EW's detecting a radar signal at 0-2-0. Request bearing clear or foul." Lt Commander Burk called over the internal comm alerting them as alarms went off on the bridge as their systems alerted them to the situation. The man slipped back into his role as TAO and Garnett was back in her duties as X.O., Mike knew because he'd spoken to her less than 10 minutes ago when she reported she was in CIC.

"We should have a visual." Mejia informed Mike.

"Lookouts?" Mike asked Jeter, no one from Mike's group was resting it seemed as all were at their stations. The only one who was off duty was Miller but Mike knew it wasn't by choice. His ankle put him out of business. Jeter picked up a headset and looked out the front window.

"Surface lookouts be advised. Passive radar reports contact bearing approximately 0-2-0. Requesting reports." Jeter said on the headset.

"We have an ID on our radar?" Mike asked Granderson as he moved to her station to see what the EW was seeing in CIC as Granderson's station showed the same information.

"3-D, sir. Navy navigational. Definitely military." Granderson informed him.

"That's one of Peng's. We're picking up their radar intermittently." Tom said standing to Alisha's right and looking at the screen.

" _Bridge? CIC. Recommend adjusting course to stay within this island chain_." Garnett advised them from the CIC.

"OOD, make course 1-4-0." Mike ordered.

"OOD, aye. Helm, make course 1-4-0." Alisha said repeating his orders to the Helm. The man on the helm, repeated the course change and proceeding to change the ship's course.

"Lookout reports no contacts down that bearing." Jeter informed them, he held onto the headset with one hand and picked up binoculars. He looked out the front window and scanned the horizon. "A signal that powerful, why can't we see the ship on the horizon?" he asked them.

Tom and Mike exchanged looks not sure what to make of it until the screen before Alisha updated to show there was more than one signal. The station made furious beeping noises alerting them to the new information.

"Because it's not one ship." Tom said

"Instead of one strong signal close by, it's four normal signals further out." Mike said, he looked to Tom as the NAthan James was a fine ship but against four other military vessels. Well they were screwed.

"Peng sent his entire fleet." Tom told him.

"Go dark." Mike ordered. The bridge crew raced around the room to their task, Jeter moved to the back of the bridge to use the P.A. system.

"Darken ship. Darken non-essential equipment off. Decks clear of non-essential personnel. Darken ship. Darken ship." Jeter said over the P.A., Tom looked to Mike and second later they were pitched into darkness.

* * *

"How long do we have now?" Anna asked Tex as she stretched her arms above her head. She was body sore from flying in the uncomfortable chairs.

"Roughly 10 hours." Tex told her with a wry smile, as he handed her a bottle of water. He had a feeling that she was hoping it was less time. She took the bottle and uncapped it, pausing for a moment as the plane shuddered through some meagre turbulence. She then took a sip, which made Tex give a weird smile.

"How do you do that?" he asked her.

"What?" Anna asked him.

"Know when there's going to be turbulence." He said, as she seemed to be able to sense it much like a dog sensed a storm coming but he'd never use that metaphor given he liked his manhood.

"The front of the plane shook before it reached us." She told him, she gave a sigh before she took another sip wishing they were already in Japan. "I remember why I hate to fly." she added in a good humoured grumble.

"Commercial would've been better but make do with what's available." Tex said with a smile as he had to agree that this was not the most comfortable flight of his life. But it wasn't the worst. His years in the Military topped out as the worst flights as there wasn't anything pleasant about sharing a space with numerous men sweating bullets in their gear.

"True. So you and Kat have been planning a wedding behind my back?" Anna asked with a mocking lilt.

"Technically not behind your back given you were at work or asleep on the couch. It was more like spit balling ideas." Tex informed her.

"I like the sound of it all." Anna said to him, it warmed him that she wasn't against what he and Kat talked about. As the two had been discussing ideas with her in mind. To give her a wedding that would include their nearest and dearest while keeping it small as neither of them could see Anna donning big gown and demanding a lavish affair. It wasn't Anna's style neither was it Tex's.

"No wishes for the actual day like a horse drawn carriage." Tex asked with a smile.

"No, like I said before. I never thought I'd get married ever so I have no image for what I want for the day." Anna said honestly, Tex had to admit that he found her reasoning to be depressing as he could see her as a little girl dreaming of weddings and prince charming. But he knew she'd given up a lot her dreams and goals due to her illness and how it incapacitated her life.

Part of her trying to stay sane but limiting her stresses and not putting pressure on herself to strive for anything. He knew from previous talks that she felt part of her was always a failure. She couldn't be convinced otherwise as she'd be slow to tick off the boxes that everyone around her had. Part of her isolating herself from the world was that she could ignore that she was over 30 with no career, no husband or kids. When she ignored that aspect she found peace in herself, something Tex appreciated as Anna knew what she wanted. She just struggled to say it out loud sometimes.

"I'll be honest, I prefer we keep it a casual affair. Wouldn't mind seeing you in a white dress."Tex said with a smile as he only had images of them in a country field or sometimes it was a park. She in a fairly plain summer cotton dress, wild flowers and her hair out loose. Of course the fantasy skipped the ceremony and reception straight to the honeymoon night of them in a hotel room and his hands smoothing up her legs while they kissed each other hungrily-

"Earth to Tex." Anna said pulling Tex out of his thoughts. It must have been some good thoughts as he'd been staring at her with a goofy smile.

"Sorry, I got distracted. You were saying?" he asked.

"Chiyo House for the reception and I don't care where we go for the honeymoon as long as I got you by myself for at least three nights." Anna said to him.

"Only three nights?" Tex asked.

"Well, I might be unemployed but you have a job which we need you to keep." Anna said with a smile.

"Does this mean you're going to cook me dinner, warm my slippers and have the newspaper on the table for me when I get home?" Tex asked in a tongue and cheek manner.

"Yes, and I'll wear my hair just the way you like it. To show you how much I care just for you." Anna deapanned, at which they both chuckled at the reference to Dusty Springfield song 'Wishin' and hopin'.'

* * *

Sasha came onto and stopped as she couldn't see in front of her the bridge was so dark. It was a stark contrast from the interior of the ship was a dull red giving minimal illumination.

"Finding your bearings, Miss Cooper?" Tom asked, he sounded like he was standing in front of her. She could hear the rest of crew talking and addressing the situation. What that was? Sasha had no clue as she only heard the orders for the ship to be darkened. She had be escorted to the bridge as non essential crew were supposed to stay in their quarters and out of the way of the ship's crew.

It's Mrs." Sasha corrected him, when someone said 'Miss' it made her feel like she was 10 yrs old or at worse one of those Southern belle stereotypes. She was not about to swoon and need to crack some vapors because she couldn't see in the dark. Her eyes would adjust.

Give it a minute. Your eyes will adjust. Stand here." Tom said, Sasha gave an unladylike snort as Tom basically told her what she already knew. But she did appreciate it as he pulled her a step forward and guided her a step to her left. Obviously making sure she wasn't in the way of the crew. It was part of the reason she wasn't a fan of being on the bridge. She didn't like being in the way and majority of the time her presence was superfluous.

"First time on a darkened ship?" Mike asked her, she couldn't see where was if her life depended on it but she did know he was somewhere in front of her.

"Army Intelligence doesn't spend much time on ships. Captain Slattery?" Sasha asked. Mike gave a grunt that she could only interpret to be 'yes' as that was Tom's friend in a nut shell. At least what she remembered of him which wasn't much, most of that time was a bit of a blur.

"Gator, where are they?" Mike asked, ignoring Sasha's question. She wasn't offended as they were in a situation that wasn't conducive to chatting socially. But she was silently impressed at how Mike and those who had been hostages had bounced back straight into uniform and back to duty. The only one who was out of action was Miller but a broken ankle did that, given the young man was on the land teams his job at the moment was to stay out of the rest of the ship crew's way in a crisis unless called upon to help.

"All four contacts are north of our position, Sir." Mejia answered.

"Still nothing from Alpha or Bravo." Lt Granderson said.

"The four Chinese ships are spreading out, looking for us. So far, we've done a good job dodging in and out of their radar sweeps using the island chain to mask ourselves. They haven't IDed us yet." Tom said, Sasha stared into the darkness as her eyes slowly adjusted. There were few lights on in the room and not enough for her to make out anyone. But at the moment she could just see figures. She waited a few moments and her eyes adjusted quickly and she could just make out Tom's face and the others in the room.

"There you are. Now you can see me." Tom said as he obviously could tell by her features that she could see him. But then she had been blinking a lot to force her eyes to focus.

"30 seconds since last contact." Mejia announced as the crew on the bridge did not stop in their duties to applaud her ability to see for which she was grateful but she couldn't see her purpose on being on the bridge.

"So then what's the plan?" Sasha asked wondering why Tom had requested she be up here.

"We hide." Mike said from his position as he stood next to Mejia.

"Right now, our best offense is a good defense." Tom told her.

"Hence the darkness." Sasha stated, wondering if she had been pulled away from Jesse to be given a lecture and demonstration about how 'Awesome' the US Navy was. But she kept her skepticism to herself.

"Hence the darkness." Tom said repeating her, he wore smile.

"Delta contact, bearing 0-0-2 confirmed. This is another Luyang III Class Destroyer." Granderson announced.

"Hard left rudder, steady course 0-9-0. Speed 6 knots." Mike ordered.

"Aye, sir. Helmsman, come to course 0-9-0." Granderson said, Sasha had to admit she missed the rhythm of consistency and structure that the military gave one's life. Yes, there were times one had to wing it but for nearly everything situation there was a protocol and strategy to follow to ensure success of the mission at hand. The ship moved smoothly through the water at the course adjustment but the beeping at Lt Granderson's station continued "Three ships still hitting us." Granderson informed them.

"If we can get around this island, we'll be completely masked." Mike said to Tom and those on the Bridge. Sasha felt like a complete outsider standing where she didn't belong.

"We're losing ground cover on the turn." Granderson informed them. Sasha felt the tension on the bridge.

"Increase to 12 knots." Mike ordered.

"Aye. Increasing speed to 12 knots." Mejia said acknowledging the order, the console in front of Alisha that had been steadily beeping started to slow.

"Delta fading. Fading." she said as the beeping continued to slow. "Fading. Fading. We're clear. No longer being hit by any navigational radar." Granderson said as she and majority on the bridge gave an exhale of relief.

"We've got island cover." Mejia informed them.

"Up the red lights." Mike ordered, he moved to his chair and perched on the edge. He scrubbed a hand down his face. His heart pounded hard and fast in his chest, it made him wonder if maybe he should be taking more than a few hours off the recover from his time as hostage. But then he knew better, he was too antsy to sit in his quarters and the faster they made it to open waters. The sooner he could call Kate. He felt once he heard her voice and the girls he'd feel more centred and able to focus. He did know one thing, they couldn't elude the Chinese fleet without help.

He looked to Tom who seemed to be of the same mind. Not that they spoke of it but it was stupid to have Takehaya on their ship and not utilize his knowledge on the area they were currently in.

"We think once the ships are closer we might be able to intercept their transmissions. We'll need you to translate any comms between the ships." Tom said to Sasha.

"Shouldn't I be in CIC?" Sasha asked Tom.

"Just for once, say 'Aye, Sir' and do as I ask." Tom said to her in a low voice.

"Aye Sir." Sasha replied, Tom looked to Mike and he left his chair and joined him, they headed off the bridge.

"She's got attitude." Mike told Tom.

"I know, be glad you never had siblings. Little sisters are pains in the ass." Tom grumbled in good humor.

* * *

"You sure about this?" Samantha asked Rachel as they sat in a private visitor's room in the prison waiting for Milowsky to arrive.

"Yes," Rachel said feeling a little nausea. She had thought she'd be fine facing Milowsky but now her stomach churned and her palms were sweating as all she could think about was how he was going to rile her and what memories he'd stir in her. She wore the only outfit that was slightly formal. It was dark blue skinny jeans, a loose white and navy striped top with a grey blazer. She had her hair half up half down.

Samantha was dressed in green military style suit denoting herself as a Marine officer. Her hair was quaffed in a way that gave her a masculine energy of 'Don't fuck with me' but then Samantha seemed to have that kind of bearing when she walked into a room. Or so Rachel had observed. She had to admit she was rather envious of that power as she had lost the knack though she had a feeling if this was more her area of expertise she'd be able to project more confidence.

"Ok, put on your game face." Samantha said as she sat in her chair at the table and looked to the door. It swung open and Milowsky was escorted in. He'd changed a lot since Rachel had last seen him, he'd lost weight, his face though cleanly shaven seemed dull but his eyes were keen and bright. He was wearing the traditional orange scrubs and sand shoes, he was also chained at the ankles and wrists. Even though he was more cerebral than muscle in his evil works, it did bring her some pleasure to see him reduced to an animal.

"Dr Rachel Scott," Milowsky murmured, a shudder of revulsion ran through her as he made it sound like he was calling her his lover. He sat down and the guard chained his restraints to the floor. Securing Milowsky so even if he had a violent side he couldn't reach Rachel or Samantha if he tried.

"Dr Milowsky." She replied coolly, doing her best to be polite and calm at least on the outside while the on the inside she wanted to hurt him for everything he had done to her and Kate. Mainly what he'd done to Kate, Anna and those who'd been in his and his colleagues clutches.

"You brought a friend." Milowsky said as he looked to Samantha, his eyes taking in every little detail of her; analyzing her.

"Colonel Samantha Nash. Don't be offended that I don't shake your hand, I'm not big on germs." Samantha told the man, she gave him a mocking smile.

"What do I owe for this visit. Is there something wrong with your babies?" Milowsky asked looking to Rachel, she gave him nothing as she'd been prepared for him to bait her and pull as much information from her as possible. Because she knew what it was like to be deprived of one's work, Milowsky might be in Jail but he hadn't stopped thinking about his research even though it was completely scrapped. He obviously had access to a TV, so she had no secrets only that of her children and her bloodwork and any medical information he wanted that was relevant to Project Genesis.

"We're here on another matter." Rachel told him.

"You need my help." He said smugly, he leaned back in his chair looking vindicated by their presence.

"Yes, I'm told you're Geneticist and a virologist. So lucky for you, we have a nice deal, you help us in exchange you get a new mattress, doona and other bedding to make your imprisonment more comfortable." Samantha told him.

"Pass. I'd prefer lab time, blood samples from Rachel, her twins and Kate. I have research and work that has been severely delayed by small minded people." Milowsky told her, he obviously felt he had more power than he did. It was something Rachel and Samantha had discussed before they arrived. It was why Samantha took lead and they'd agreed before hand how much leeway they were going to grant Milowsky.

"Compromise, we'll run whatever tests you want on the women and give you hard copy of the results. But you don't get squat until we get answers. Proper answers that will help us and show visible progress in helping us reach our goals." Samantha told him.

"I want Rachel and Kate's genetic profiles with testing for specific markers to start as a promise of something more." Milowsky bargained.

"What could you possibly learn from my DNA?" Rachel asked him.

"I might not be able to continue my work but I have questions that I want satisfied." He told Rachel as he looked her over, she felt like he was examining her and she was half tempted to cover her torso with her arms but stopped herself. As she wanted to walk out of the room feeling she stood her ground and not cowered to him. But there was a small part of her that was upset that he was trying to pry into her life.

"Fine, but you get nothing until you give us something first. Better be worth it." Samantha said as she pushed the folder across the table to Milowsky.

"Interesting." He remarked as he flicked through the folder, reading over the notes and looking at the images. "Your hypothesis is that it's a genetically modified bacteria," Milowsky said as he closed the folder.

"Yes." Rachel said coolly.

"If you're correct then it would be activated by moisture, probably spread out as a mist, it's breathed into the lungs and spreads from there. What you need to do is an autopsy of the victims, to see whether they died of the virus or liver failure or even kidney." Milowsky told them.

"Why would you suspect that they have liver or kidney failure?" Samantha asked him.

"As anyone would know, blood gets cleansed by those organs. The body is compromised by the virus already but then you have this bacteria floating in there jamming up the works so to speak. But the hostages were taken by Japanese Pirates. If they have this mutated bacteria in their blood then the blood of those Sailors would boost their immunity for a short time." Milowsky said.

"Who says this is about the Pirates?" Samantha asked. Milowsky opened the folder and pulled out the DNA spreads they had from the victim. He placed it on the table and tapped on a couple places on the page.

"These gene factors are for people from Japan. I know this because we studied the effects of the virus given that American born Japanese people were immune to the virus while those who were born in Japan are not. It's something about our environment that affects the expression of certain genes. the same genes that majority of Immunes carry in them. So this tells me that you're investigating a biological weapon. Not many people who could pull this off, let alone have the resources to back up such a project." Milowsky told them.

"And let me guess you know a few names." Samantha remarked drily.

"I do, but I think I've given you enough for the moment." Milowsky told them.


	31. Chapter 31

_A/N: Sorry about the delays. I'm still writing this story but sometimes my muse comes and goes making updates a little slow. But I'm still working on it and thank you for all the reviews and patience. Enjoy :)_

* * *

 **Chapter 31**

* * *

Tom opened the door to the room they were holding Takehaya and stepped in. Takehaya struggled to get up from the bed, he had to admire the man's perseverance at wanting to be seen as strong. But it was clear the virus was taking it's toll on his body, the only difference was that he only seemed to be stalled in the first stage of the virus. He could still remember Rachel telling them about it; fever, lethargy. There was no cough or sores on the man's face or extremities which made him wonder about the mutation and noting wryly that it was too late for proper quarantine procedures to protect the crew if they weren't immune to this mutation.

"Please. Sit." Tom said to him, Takehaya sagged back onto the bed and slowly propped himself up against the bed. "We tested your blood. Yours and your wife's. The cure that runs through your veins is the very same as the one that runs through mine, except for some reason, it's not working on you. Until Doc Rios can get his new lab running, we won't know why. So... here I am again." Tom told him, Mike came into the room with a blood bag and IV line, he set up and held out the end of the IV line to Takehaya.

Tom noted the look exchanged between the two, Mike's was one of distaste while Takehaya's was one of resignation to his fate. It was clear Mike didn't like handing over blood to Takehaya but it was the reality of their situation. They needed him alive and to do that the man needed blood. Takehaya took the end of the IV line and connected it to the catheter in his right arm. He gave a sigh of relief as the fresh blood poured into his system.

"I want details about what happened after you received the cure." Tom told Takehaya, the man remained quiet as he clutched his arm like it would stop the IV line from disconnecting from the catheter.

"You can keep fighting us, thinking we're monsters, or you can cooperate, help us figure out what went wrong and how to fix it." Mike said as he ha moved away to lean against the wall. He folded his arms across his chest and looked to Takehaya. The man heaved a deep sigh as if he didn't want to speak but knew he had no choice.

"I heard the call over the radio. The Americans are coming with the cure. We rushed to the port, thousands of us. Survivors."Takehaya heaved a tired breath in an exhaled slowly, the memories playing in his mind. "The ships arrived. American ships. And we lined up to receive our injections. They told us to spread out, to pass the cure on to the rest of our people. Soon... there was no way to tell who had the cure and who did not... because everyone who wasn't naturally immune died." Takehaya told them, it was clear to Mike and Tom that Takehaya was holding onto a lot of anger and strangely guilt over the events he was recounting.

"But other than the U.S. Navy, who had custody of the cargo once it landed? Could someone have tampered with the doses on the pier?" Tom asked.

"How can you be so sure? We delivered to dozens of countries on this ship. We always worked with the local partners-" Mike argued but Takehaya cut him off.

"I was a local partner, Captain. My crew was there. We'd made sure everyone received a dose. I was in charge. I was responsible." Takehaya told them, suddenly his reason for feeling guilty.

"That's why you wanted those ships out of Okinawa. That's why you wanted to punish the people that brought you the cure. But why work with Peng?" Tom asked.

"I did not work with Peng." Takehaya told him, his disdain for Peng rang loud and clearly to Mike and Tom. It was something that

"Oh, come on. The coincidence is too great. You kidnapped my people in Hai Phong at precisely the same moment Peng blows up my plane in Hong Kong?" Tom asked him.

"I do not call that coincidence, Captain. I call that luck." Takehaya informed him.

"How's that luck running for you now?" Tom asked him, Takehaya looked away obviously knowing Tom was taking a dig at him.

"Ok, If you're not working with Peng who you clearly hate then help us." Mike told Takehaya, Tom's eyebrows rose in surprise as they hadn't discussed making any deals with the man.

"Why would I help you?" Takehaya asked in disgust.

"Because you may hate us Americans but right now your wife and unborn child are on this ship. We're being hunted by Peng's fleet. You know these waters better than anyone else on the ship. So I'd say it's in your best interest to help us as it would help your family. Otherwise we all sink together and that is the reality we're facing." Mike told him.

* * *

"How are you going to sell this to Kate?" Samantha asked Rachel as she was driving them back to Rachel's house. The meeting with Milowsky weighed heavily in her mind. There was negotiation, her twins would remain untouched by Milowsky and his research. He'd done enough damage to her and Kate's life; she didn't want it bleeding into the twins' life.

"I don't have to, when she found out she was pregnant her doctor had to run all the usual tests. Those should be enough to whet his appetite but I will tell her before we hand anything over. Right now I just want to go home. I need another shower and hold my children." Rachel said as she watched the world pass outside of the car as they drove. She felt dirty from seeing Milowsky and how his eyes raked over it, it brought back a lot of memories she hadn't wanted to revisit a renewed and somewhat irrational fear for her girls. It made her wish that Milowsky was dead because then she and the girls would be completely safe given his research would die with him.

"He's fairly confident that he's not going to stay in prison." Samantha commented.

"He is under the delusion that his skills are in demand. That he can bargain his freedom but he can't. What he did was inexcusable." Rachel said.

"If he knows how to combat this weapon then we will need him in a lab." Samantha argued, playing devil's advocate. As they really had no clue how devastating the weapon was or if they were even immune to it. That and they needed to track down the maker and scientist to make sure he or she couldn't cook up more weapons. There was a lot at stake and if they were brutally honest it was outside of Rachel's specialty.

"No, we just need him linked to a lab where he can supervise and we can watch everything he does." Samantha offered, she wasn't comfortable putting Milowsky back into a lab. There were too variables they couldn't control and thus the only place they could keep the risks low was to keep Milowsky in prison.

"That would be preferred over releasing him, the immunes maybe dormant but if they caught wind of this weapon, they'd want him to help- oh my god." Samantha said as a bad thought crossed her mind.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"What if the Immunes are making a come back, they tried to destroy the labs and distribution centres before the CNO took out the American leadership. But we left Europe to their own devices, maybe the immune factions over there are culling the herd this way. Then they could pool all of the resources left over and rebuild the world in their own version of utopia." Samantha said as she kept her eyes on the road. She hadn't even considered that the immunes were behind the biological weapon but it made sense.

"That's a leap, and those who have had the cure are immune to this weapon." Rachel argued.

"That we know of." Samantha countered, something that Rachel couldn't argue as they didn't have enough information.

"True but at the moment the world is severely underpopulated. To poison any non-immunes would mean the extinction of the human race." Rachel said, she hated how it sounded but the immunes needed the non immunes and vice versa,

"You predicted between 740,000 to 3.4 million people were naturally immune, I'm not seeing how them culling non immunes would bring about the extinction of the human race." Samantha pointed out.

"You have to factor in the age, gender, education level and health of those people. Majority of them have serious health issues or family histories of poor health to carry the gene that makes them immune. You are naturally immune, think of your family history."

"Breast Cancer, I can see your point." Samantha said, the immunes were either not the healthiest individuals due to defunct genetics or had a higher chance of developing illnesses in the future cutting their life short. It also meant that the immunes weren't so special just lucky in this regard.

"Education level plays into it because we might have all these modern resources but you need skilled labour to keep even the most simple infrastructure running. For example, you want electricity then you need the engineers, electricians and mechanics, you need the labour to keep bringing in the fuel sources."

"Basically for the system to work you need all the right players. So even the Elitist society Mrs Granderson wanted was a pipeline dream." Samantha said.

"Yes, even her dream was unobtainable. It's why the vaccine and cure is so important. We need every individual to survive and share their skills to this generation and the next to keep the infrastructure we're barely holding onto to grow and flourish." Rachel told her.

* * *

"Maybe we just delivered a bad batch to Japan. It spoiled in transit or-" Sasha started but Mike cut her off.

"Unlikely. I've been delivering the cure all over the world. This has never happened before." Mike told her before he took a sip of his coffee. Tom was leaning over the Wardroom table looking at a map of the territory they were currently sailing through.

"Agreed, last time we spoke with home. Lassiter Industries had investigated it. The cure we delivered was as advertised. It hadn't spoiled and there were no defects or faults." Tom said, as he looked down at the map in deep thought trying to figure it all out in his head. He did however have a better understanding of Takehaya. The man was on his own crusade to take revenge for his people, to save face, there was no covert mission, this man was a naval officer who had gone AWOL with his wife and started pirating the South China Seas. Even though he was good at being a pirate he was deeply steeped in shame and guilt over what he'd become.

"Well, there's no reason to take the word of a pirate who captured, tortured, and killed your men." Sasha told Mike and Tom.

"We have his blood, Sasha. The cure clearly didn't work on him. Something happened in Japan." Tom told her, he knew Sasha was playing Devil's advocate to keep them thinking of other scenarios and to keep an open mind. But Tom felt fairly set in that he believed Takehaya was telling the truth about what happened in Japan.

"Well, then maybe it was a mutation after all." Sasha said, Tom grimaced as he didn't like Rachel's work being questioned and he was about to say as much when Sasha spoke. "Okay, I know Dr. Scott said that the virus cannot mutate. You've been very clear about that. But with no other explanation, isn't it possible that in this one instance Dr. Scott was wrong?" She asked, her tone was very diplomatic as she tried to explain her side, as she was just interpreting the facts that were in front of her.

Tom and Mike exchanged looks, silently knowing that they believed Rachel's assumption of the virus not being able to mutate to be true. Rachel had proven her worth in that regard. It was just down to explaining that to Sasha without her feeling like she was being invalidated. Tom was about to tackle that when the P.A. beeped.

" _General quarters, general quarters. All hands, man your battle stations_." Jeter announced, Mike placed his coffee cup down and raced out of the room. A chime rang and sirens began to wail alerting the crew of changed conditions to the ship.

"Come with me." Tom ordered Sasha and they chased after Mike. The passage ways cleared of personnel as they made space for Mike and the others to pass and with in seconds they were on the bridge.

"What do you got?" Mike asked as he walked over to Granderson's station. Sasha followed behind Tom as they moved to the front of the bridge. He picked up binoculars and looked out the window but Sasha found herself glued to watching the people on the bridge.

"We're surrounded, sir. Two ships on either side painting us with navigational radar." Granderson informed Mike, they both looked at the screen and Mike frowned.

"Damn it. They used our time in the islands to set a perimeter." Mike surmised.

"So we go dark again?" Sasha asked out of curiosity.

"Negative. They see a speck of light on the horizon, we can't suddenly disappear." Tom said as he lowered the binoculars down. He could just make out the light coming from one of the ships. But it was too far out to engage but too close that it would notice them if they went dark.

"They can both see us. They've gotta have us triangulated by now." Mike said, he picked up the phone and dialled CIC and waited. When Garnett answered, he spoke. "CIC, Bridge. Be ready to fire down known bearing lines." he ordered, he hung up the phone and stood by Granderson's side assessing their situation.

"Two ships. Where are the other two? Prepare to break EMCOM, find targeting solutions." Mike ordered.

"Aye, sir." Granderson said acknowledging his orders.

"They're hailing us, sir." Jeter announced from the back of the ship. They all turned to him.

"Which ship?" Tom asked.

"The transmission's not in English." Jeter informed him, he turned on the speaker for the comms and a male voice poured over the speaker. He spoke in Mandarin Chinese, suddenly everyone was looking at Sasha. She moved to the station where Jeter was and listened to the transmission.

"It's an ID. Hull number 172. 19 kilometers off our port quarter. holding at 15 knots." Sasha said as she translated the transmission verbatim as the man on the radio spoke.

"That's the one to our east." Mejia said from his station, Mike already had the phone receiver in hand.

"CIC, Bridge. We have a location. Get me fire targeting options, but do not go active." Mike ordered over the phone.

"They still haven't painted us with their fire control, sir." Granderson informed him.

"What are they waiting for?" Tom asked as they were clearly in the view range of the ship. They should have made their coordinates and were able to attack. It made no sense.

"They're asking for us to report in." Sasha said confused, the line crackled and another man's voice came over the waves. "Wait, hold on. This is a different voice." Sasha told them, she frowned as she listened. "Hull number 87. 20 kilometers, west-northwest." She translated.

"Second ship?" Mike asked.

"Currently at 12 knots. Also asking for a report." Sasha translated.

"From who?" Mike asked, as he was just as confused as everyone else.

"From us." Tom said, he looked to Mike and it suddenly dawned in on Sasha as the man on Ship 172 spoke again asking for them to report in.

"Chinese 172 thinks we're Chinese 87, and 87 thinks we're 172." Sasha said, her heart pounding as they were in a very precarious situation.

"Not for long. They're closing in. Soon they'll be in range of each other and they'll know who we are." Tom said as he looked to the Navigational screen to the side of the room showing their current course and how they were being hit by radar by the two ships flanking them.

"We gotta disappear. Fast." Mike said.

"There's a pass up ahead. We can use it as a mask." Mejia suggested.

"We head to the pass and come to full stop. When they get to the other side, we won't be there." Tom said.

"You heard the man." Mike told Mejia.

"30 seconds till we make it to the pass." Mejia informed them. Mike hung up the phone receiver and moved to where Sasha was. He pulled a radio reciever off the station and held it out to her.

"You're the only one here who speaks Chinese. Answer 'em." He ordered her.

"Both of them can hear us. Which ship am I supposed to be?" She asked him incredulously.

"Pick one." Mike told her.

"You do realise only 7.5% of the PLA are female. That's over Navy, Army and Air force. The likelihood of a woman being on comms is incredibly practically non existent. It won't fly." she told them, it was a well known truth and she also knew that she had no clue how to answer them properly as she might speak Mandarin but she didn't speak Navy.

"Just gotta buy some time to get in the pass." Mike told her, the sailors on the comms were starting to get restless from the lack of communication from the other end they were trying to contact. Sasha couldn't help but feel flustered as she was out of her depth and didn't think she could bullshit this one.

"I'll do it." Tom said, he took the radio receiver from Mike and held it out. He clicked it on and off in several beats. It created a garbled static over the radio.

"20 seconds!" Mejia said.

"172 to 87... your last was garbled. Say again. Over." Sasha translated as she couldn't believe it was going to work. Tom clicked the reciever a few more times. Static sounded yet again before the other man from ship 87 spoke.

"87 to 172, please say again." Sasha translated.

"This won't hold them off for long. Gator!" Mike shouted over his shoulder at Mejia.

"10 seconds!" Mejia answered, Sasha looked at Tom and listened to the comms. The men on both lines weren't happy and were insisting they report in again. Mejia counted down, it felt like the longest ten seconds of her life. "3... 2- We made it to the pass." Mejia announced.

"All stop! All stop!" Mike ordered, the engines were immediately powered down and Sasha braced herself as the ship pulled at being stopped. She listened the radio. Now was the moment of truth to see if they got away cleanly.

"87 to 172, please repeat bearing and speed. Do you copy?" Sasha translated for the others on the bridge, she waited with abated breath and a few seconds later the other ship responded. "172 to 87, reading you loud and clear." she said as she gave an exhale of relief.

"They're not giving up and they're not going away." Tom said, Sasha knew exactly what Tom's next move would be. He was going to convince Takehaya to help them as they were outgunned and in unfamiliar waters. If they had any hope of evading the Chinese Fleet they needed Takehaya to help them.

* * *

Kate jerked awake to the sharp pain, she'd been having yet another horrible nightmare about Milowsky cutting the baby out of her body. Scout barked at her as he wagged his tail happily. She narrowed her eyes at him as she'd been sleeping on the couch and when she looked at her hand she could see his milk teeth impressions on her index and middle finger.

"That is not nice but I appreciate the wake up call." she said to Scout, she wasn't sure if she should be praising him for biting her. He jumped up putting his front legs on the front of lounge, he was still too small to jump up but it was obvious he wanted attention.

She gave him a rub down his back deciding if the biting thing became a habit then she'd worry about it. But for now she'd let it go. She looked at the clock noting that Maddy and Lena were making a day of shopping as they'd been gone all morning. A knock sounded at the door, Scout barked and raced for the door. Kate smiled as he just managed to skid to a stop before the door without smacking into it.

She opened the door and smiled as Jed was on the other side.

"Hey Jed, what's going on?" Kate asked as she opened the door wide. Scout sniffed around Jed's feet and legs before wanting his attention.

"I thought I'd drop by and walk Scout for you. So you can get some rest." Jed said as he knelt down and greeted Scout.

"Do I look that bad?" Kate asked him, she knew it was the equivalent of asking if her ass looked big. But couldn't help but ask.

"A little." Jed admitted with a smile.

"How you ended up married with four kids is beyond me." Kate joked as she wasn't offended given she pretty much still in her pyjamas and hadn't bothered with a hair brush for the morning.

"I'm good looking, it tends to make up for a lack of tact." Jed said in a tongue and cheek manner.

"Apparently," Kate replied drily.

"You want to walk with us?" Jed asked her, he'd wanted to give Kate a chance to rest but she looked a little restless and out of sorts. Not that she was saying as much but her body language was screaming it.

"Sure." Kate said, as getting out of the house sounded like a good thing.

"Should we invite Lena or Maddy?" Jed asked.

"They are out shopping at the moment. Come in, I'll just get changed." Kate said as she waved him into the house.

* * *

"There's nothing she could give you?" Tom asked Sasha, she gave Tom an incredulous look.

"I'm not going to push Kyoko for intel on her husband. She's in a precarious situation as it is." Sasha pointed out to him.

"I know." Tom said racking a hand over his face. He felt like an asshole but he felt like he needed to know more than what they did. That more information could help leverage them to get Takehaya to help them as he wasn't moved greatly by Mike reminding him that his wife and child were on the ship. Kyoko was suffering worse than her husband as Malaria took it's toll on her system, there was also the unborn child that was in a precarious state because they just didn't have the proper facilities on board to help them.

"Look, I get it. But there's nothing she could tell you that you haven't already learnt. Takehaya is an Naval Captain who went AWOL to keep her and their unborn child alive. That is all that drives him-"

"That an a need to get retribution for his people being slaughtered by us." Tom added cutting Sasha off.

"It's easy for him to perceive it that way. The US government bypassed Japan for China, and when the cure arrived it was already too late." Sasha pointed out as they'd been over the information they knew. But where Tom was confused, Sasha wrote everything off as US Government doing wrong by the world. A bias she had developed from her experience, he wasn't going to correct her as she had been abandoned by their Government. Granted there was a pandemic, it still went against the grain of what they were taught in the military and who he felt they were as a people.

"But the cure was supposed to work. They have the cure but it's not working which means it's something else." Tom said, Sasha blew out a breath as she knew what he was thinking.

"Biological warfare is a huge leap to make." Sasha said in a hushed tone, she knew the kind of talk would make the rumour mill go crazy. It would also scare a lot of people too an given they had no proof, there was no reason for panic.

"It's the only logical answer, the virus can't mutate which means it's something else. Biological weapon makes sense and we should prepare for it." Tom told her.

"Who-" Sasha started but Tom cut her off as he already knew the answer.

"Peng. Your friend Jesse said she saw his soldiers moving missiles in Guangzhou." Tom pointed out, he knew he was biased, but Peng shot down his plane and tried to kill him and the crew of the Nathan James. There was no reason for the attack other than the fact that Tom and Nathan James were a symbol of strength and hope to the public in America. To lose this ship an it's people would devastate America. That and Tom's track record of winning was a risk against any plans Peng had. He knew Peng saw him as a formidable enemy.

"Peng hasn't got any scientists in his ranks who could cook up biological weapons and China's science community was decimated in the pandemic." Sasha argued as she couldn't make the

"That you know of." Tom countered.

"Tom, we have no proof that is Peng or why he would do this." Sasha told him, she of course could think of several reasons why Peng would attack his neighbours. He wanted the land and it's resources, but not just that. He wanted New China to be like it was in the ye old days where it had reigned over majority of Asia.

"Then we find the proof." he told her.

"Right, is that before or after Peng's fleet sinks us? Even if we could find proof, then what?" she asked him, she knew that he planned to bring Takehaya back to the States to face charges for his crime. But she felt it was useless as they didn't have the same judicial system or any real international judicial system to charge and convict criminals like Takehaya. She also couldn't see President Michener have the balls to call Peng out on breaking the BWC. Even if they pulled Peng from presidency they had no one to put in his place that the people would follow. Because as much as people hated and feared Peng, he was giving them order in the chaos and implemented many plans that lead to the reconstruction of their civilisation.

"We-" Tom started but it was Sasha's turn to cut him off.

"There's nothing, he'll get away with it. He already has, if the Japanese death toll is a result of him deploying biological weapons. Then America has shown it' turn a blind eye to it, as the President offered no help to the Japanese Government which speaks loudly to the people that they knew and allowed it to happen." Sasha said.

"Not true, we're doing something now." Tom said.

"Because you were roped into it when Peng shot your plane down and the others were kidnapped. If none of that had happened, then you'd be blind to it all. You'd still be in the US with your family." Sasha told him.

* * *

"He's got a personality." Jed said to Kate as they slowly meandered down the sidewalk. Scout was walking ahead of them sniffing nearly everything as he went.

"Yeah, he does. I really need to train him to walk on a lead." Kate said with a soft smile as Scout turned around and came to them. He gave them a look of 'Please hurry up' before he raced back in front of them only to be impeded by the leash. It made him stop and sit down waiting for them. It was all rinse and repeat with him as he hadn't learned how to walk on the leash but at least he was polite about it. Yet another thing they needed to train him on. but all in good time.

"All in good time. Can't overload the pup. So how you going?" Jed asked.

"Better than yesterday." Kate said, though she wasn't sure about that as she kept having nightmares. The nightmares made her feel uneasy and knowing that Milowsky was in the same state as her made her skin crawl. She didn't want to think about him or that they needed his help.

"Tommy will find them all." Jed promised her, she smiled sadly as she noted how he didn't specify 'alive'.

"I know, I just get this really sick feeling in my gut when I think about it." Kate told him.

"You sleeping ok?" he asked her, She gave a wan smile.

"Not really, nightmares of Baltimore." Kate confessed, it wasn't that she was trying to keep it a secret but she had to admit she was more comfortable admitting it to Jed than anyone else. She chalked it up to him being ex-army and that he knew what it was like to feel messed up by the dark side of humanity. But it was also that unlike Anna who preferred to be in denial, Jed had a softer more understanding side to him.

"Want to tell me about them?" he asked.

"Not really, I just want to forget them and stop having them." Kate said, feeling a little emotionally raw by her dreams and Jed's kindness.

* * *

Sasha sat by Kyoko's bed side, the woman's condition was clearly deteriorating. She hated that there was nothing they could do to cure them but at least Sasha could keep her company. It was something small in the grand scheme. Rios had tried to figure out what was wrong with Kyoko and Takehaya. How they could have both the cure and virus in their bloodstream but still be sick.

Kyoko had fallen into a restless sleep over half an hour ago, Malaria and the virus taking it's toll on her body. Sasha felt a deep sadness for her, Kyoko was about the same age as her. She was pregnant with a child she might never get raise or even see born as the rate she was deteriorating Rios was already talking about performing a C-section to save the child. Sasha knew he was being pragmatic but it made her feel for the child, he or she didn't deserve to enter the world this way. It deserved to have a family and to be surrounded by love and laughter. One thing she did notice was that no one talked about what would happen if the baby survived.

Kyoko opened her eyes, her breathing laboured as it was a struggle to breathe. She looked up at the bottom of the bunk bed above before skating around the room. Her features screwed up in fear, her eyes glassy as she wasn't focussing on her surroundings.

" _The mist._ " she murmured in Japanese, she took a breath but sounded like she was suffocating. " _The green mist_." she said clearly delusional but panicking. Sasha rubbed a hand up her arm and gently shushed her hoping it would calm her but Kyoko was completely frozen in her hallucination. " _Can't you see the green mist in the night sky?_ " she asked.

"I can't see anything." Sasha replied in Japanese, hoping if she played into the hallucination she could break Kyoko out of it. But it wasn't working as her heart rate was elevated.

" _It's coming through the window."_ Kyoko said, her breathing became erratic as if she were suffocating for air and then her her vitals went completely haywire.

"Doc? Doc." Sasha called, she immediately stepped away from Kyoko's side to make room for Rios who rushed into the room. He knelt down beside the bed and pulled out a stethoscope and was examining Kyoko. The woman was completely petrified and struggling to breathe.

"Oh, no." Rios said.

"What... what's happening?" Sasha asked him as the Vital's monitor was screaming at them to do something. She felt the need to help but this was way out of her level of medical training.

"Her heart rate's elevated. Her blood pressure's dumping. This baby's in distress. We need to deliver it right away." Rios said he looked over his shoulder and saw his assistant. "Logan, I need to start an epidural right now!" Rios ordered.

"Yes, sir" Logan replied as he went to get what Rios asked for.

"Ma'am, we need help. I need you to find anyone with any kind of surgical experience on this ship now. Go!" he shouted at her, Sasha didn't need to be told twice as she raced out of the infirmary.

* * *

" _Reports are coming from Japan and Vietnam that the death toll is still rising from the virus even with the introduction of the cure._ " Jacob said on the TV, he continued to berate Michener's lack of initiative in investigating why the lapse in the effectiveness of the cure. That perhaps they were hiding the fact that the virus has mutated and the recent take over of Lassiter Industries was to cover up the ineffectiveness of the current cure.

"Great, how the hell did he find that out?" Alex demanded but no one answered him as Michner looked to Samantha.

"What did Milowsky say?" Michener asked Samantha as he didn't care what Jacob was saying as the man was always tearing his character to pieces.

"He won't help unless we give him information that we don't have access to." Samantha half lied. She would prefer to keep Alison and Alex out of it but the two were constantly at Michener's side. It was why she was lying to Michener as she wanted to protect the circulation of information as she had her suspicions and frankly didn't trust Michener's judgement or administration given this latest leak of information.

"What information?" Michener asked her.

"He was researching advanced gene therapies and he wants to continue study Hatake and Lassiter. He also wants lab space and his freedom in exchange for his services." Samantha said, she knew it wasn't what Milowsky had asked for but it was just inevitable that he would do so in the future.

"We could compromise with house arrest, as for Lassiter and Hatake well... we can't compel them to submit to testing. Frankly, I don't need any further bad press with them nor do I want to help him continue his unethical research. What he was doing was controversial." Michener said with a sigh as that cancelled out half the deal. He couldn't in good conscience ask that of the women which meant they couldn't get Milowsky to help them.

"No, it would be rather on the nose to do as much." Samantha said.

"I don't agree, we have very few scientists alive. Wouldn't it be better to give him half of what he wants for his compliance?" Alison asked, Samantha stifled an annoyed sigh as she hated the second guessing and back talk. "I know what he did in Baltimore was distasteful but if he can help then it's worth it" she added.

"Milowsky tortured, maimed and killed innocent people in the name of furthering science. Just like Josef Mengele, I doubt there is anything he could do to redeem himself given Valkyrie Network had shunted all his research to the public eye." Samantha argued.

"It wouldn't look good if it got out that we allowed him certain courtesies for his help either." Michener said.

"I will keep talking with him but honestly Sir, it's a wasted venture." Samantha lied.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

* * *

"Is Doc aware just how unqualified I am? I mean, I can pack a wound and birth a baby in a pinch but complex surgery is a little outside of my wheelhouse." Wolf said as Sasha pushed him down the P-Way in the direction of the Infirmary. It had taken Sasha a hell of lot longer to find the man than she had expected. She should have had someone page him but now they were wasting time.

"He needs more hands. You're one of the few fully qualified medics on board, so today you're the closest thing to a surgeon we've got." Sasha told him.

"Hey, don't push. I'm rushing ok?" he told her as she had nearly pushed him down the stairs before them.

"Sorry, it's just that-" Sasha didn't know why but she was upset and scared for Kyoko and her child even though she barely knew them. She didn't want another death today. Wolf seemed to sense that and cut her off.

"I get it." he told her as he proceeded down the stairs in a quick and haphazard manner.

* * *

Mike stood in the room with Takehaya, he didn't know why he was trying to convince a man to help them when he was so clearly convinced He and the Nathan James were the enemy.

"My wi- Kate. She co-owned Lassiter Industries with her Army buddy Anna Hatake. I'm sure the names are meaningless to you but they care about getting this cure out. I'm not saying what you're telling us are lies but there is a disconnect here we haven't figured out." Mike said trying to find middle ground as Takehaya wasn't swayed with the argument to help them to save his wife and son.

"What is the point in a post mortem my people were murdered." Takehaya told him.

"You and your wife are still alive. Your child still has a chance but we all have to get out of this alive." Mike said to him.

"So I can go to jail, my wife and son become ostracised by my dishonour? To be abandoned because you got your justice?" He asked him with a quirk of an eyebrow, Mike knew the Japanese people had a deep sense of honour but he hadn't really understood until now.

"What-" Mike started but a knock sounded at the door. He opened the door to see an Ensign.

"Sir, Doc Rios said you wanted to be alerted when the patient went into labour."

"Yes, thank you." Mike said, he looked to Takehaya who sat up in his bunk at the news. He motioned for Takehaya to follow him. He knew if Takehaya saw his child being born that he'd have to change his mind. He knew because when Christina had been pregnant with Maddy, he hadn't really understood how real it was all going to be like. He just had a concept and what TV taught him. It wasn't until he held his daughter in his arms for the first time that it all became real and how it changed the way he thought of life in general.

* * *

"It's okay, just keep breathing." Sasha told Kyoko in Japanese as she gently smoothed the woman's hair back away from her face in what she hoped was a soothing manner. She breathed soundly enough so Kyoko could imitate her breathing to calm herself. Kyoko whimpered, tears streaking down her face.

Somewhere between the room being prepped for surgery and the epidural being administered Kyoko had become cognisant again. She was utterly terrified, Sasha didn't blame her. She'd be freaked out too. There was no curtain to block the view and so they had a front row seat to the baby's entry into the world. It had to be frightening to be immobilised and know you were being cut open to save not just you but your own child.

Sasha wished she could lower her surgical mask, But Rios was adamant they all scrubbed up and donned surgical gear. she just felt in Kyoko could see her face she'd find come comfort. But she couldn't break protocol, so she spoke to Kyoko in hushed tones hoping if she explained what was happening it would lessen Kyoko's fears.

"They have made the incision to your lower abdomen. Can you feel any pain?" she asked her.

"No, it's just feel uncomfortable." Kyoko said, she frowned as if 'uncomfortable' wasn't the right word but would do. They'd discussed it while Rios and the others had gotten ready. Sasha made Kyoko understand why she needed to be conscious and tell Sasha immediately if she was in pain or felt. Sasha gave Kyoko's hand a gently but reassuring squeeze.

"Good, you let me know otherwise." Sasha told her. Kyoko gave a nod and looked down just as Wolf went to open the incision to her abdomen. She grew pale and skated her eyes up to the ceiling feeling a little lightheaded.

"It's okay. Just keep breathing. Slow and steady." Sasha told her.

"Oh, shit." Rios said.

"What?" Sasha asked looking to Rios.

"It's okay, it's okay. The fetal membrane's already ruptured. We need to move quickly. Irrigate. Suction." Rios ordered, Sasha looked to Kyoko who could sense the tension in the room and the rushed nature of Rios and his team.

"It's okay, the doctor is preparing to deliver your son. It's not long now and you'll be holding your baby in your arms. You just have to keep breathing like we practised." Sasha said to her as she gently smoothed a hand down Kyoko's hair.

* * *

The front door opened and Rachel saw Jed come in.

"Hey," she said from the lounge. She had the twins in their bouncy chairs with their backs to the TV as she didn't want them absorbing the news. She knew it was stupid to think they could but the news was a mix of trash and decent information. It seemed Jacob Barnes had discovered that the cure wasn't working in Asia.

"Watching the news?" Jed asked as he'd come back from seeing Kate. He stood behind the lounge looking up to the screen.

"She's not helping herself at all." Rachel said as Christina was on the screen yet again having a tirade about Mike and how the government was useless as they'd prefer to keep friendly with China then get the sailors freed from the Pirates. How Christine plotted out that the Chinese were involved was beyond her. But it had turned the woman from a scared and sad wife wanting her husband home to a complete conspiracy nut who needed to be committed or at least taken off the news. As she she was just wanting the attention, not adding to the news.

"No, but then Christina believes there's something wrong with the world when people aren't looking at her." Jed said drily, he gave a chuckle at his own humour while Rachel just smiled. It did seem true to the woman's character as she was very much about being the centre of the attention. The few times they did speak when Christina took over next door, Rachel had felt that the woman was trying to best her. Like the house, the girls and husband where items to be collected and shown off.

"You'd think a story about cute animals would be a better way to fill the airwaves." Rachel added, she gave sigh and changed the channel to another channel that ran re-runs of old TV shows. It was better than waiting for the News to get back to talking about Asia.

* * *

Tom looked through the window of the Infirmary door watching the C-section. The Nathan James was not the ideal place for a baby to be born. But they'd figure it out, he just hoped that both Mother and child survived as things had become frenetic in there. He couldn't help but feel his gut twist in a sickening anticipation of the worst. Memories of when Darien had been whisked away to surgery when Sammy decided he didn't want to wait 37 weeks to greet the world. He may have no connection to this child but really hoped he or she was born healthy.

He heard footfalls and turned to see Takehaya walk into the hallway with Mike and an armed guard behind him. Takehaya wore a expression of tense apprehension mixed with strangled joy. strangled because this was not how any father wanted to meet their child but joy nonetheless as children imbued that when they entered into their parent's lives.

"As soon as the baby's delivered, he or she'll be exposed to your wife's virus. You need to decide if you want us to give him the cure." Tom told Takehaya, laying it out there for the man to understand. "I can't force you to trust me. But as a father, I'm telling you, it's the right thing to do." Tom told him as he stepped back, Takehaya moved to the window and looked into the room.

* * *

"Extracting the fetal head now. Okay." Wolf said with a slow exhale, Sasha informed Kyoko so she was upto speed and looked in awe as Wolf slowly but gently pulled the baby from Kyoko's.

"Good, good, good, good. Just like that." Rios said.

"Okay." Wolf said, Sasha tried not the frown as she knew Kyoko was watching her but she thought that Babies came into the world fairly angry given it was a lot noisier and smellier than inside the womb. The baby just hung limply in Wolf's hands. He was so small that Wolf could hold him easily in one hand.

"Support the head and neck." Rios told him.

"Yeah, it's a boy." Wolf announced to the room, Sasha looked to Kyoko and smiled.

" _It's a boy, Kyoko. You knew all along_." she said with a smile to Kyoko.

" _He's not crying_." Kyoko said with a frown as she noticed the lack of noise.

"He's not responsive." Wolf said, Sasha's blood went cold and her heart twisted painfully.

"Okay, set him down. Agitate his feet. Just pinch his feet or tickle them." Rios suggested to Wolf. Sasha looked on her heart completely stopped tears filling her eyes as her heart was breaking for the baby boy who'd come so far.

" _Why isn't he crying? Is Kaito ok?_ " Kyoko asked Sasha, tears running down her face as her worst fears were coming a reality. Sasha wished she had words of comfort but she had no clue what to say. She'd never been in this situation before and was completely out of her comfort zone.

"Come on." Wolf said in a gentle coaxing manner. Sasha watched as he tickled the baby's feet again except this time the baby coughed and sputtered and jerked his feet away. A tiny but clear cry emitting from him. Relief washed through her as she blinked back tears. The others in the room gave a laugh of relief at the baby's displeasure as he was alive and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Takehaya pushed away from the wall, his head bent down as he looked so conflicted and in physical pain. He turned to Tom, his posture was one of a resigned man.

"Give him the cure. Please." Takehaya begged him, he didn't sound pathetic in his want but now truly understood where his priorities laid. Hearing his son cry, his arms aching to hold him, to feel him close to his heart. He stepped back feeling more the fool than ever before as he let pride and arrogance get in his way. Sure they had worked for him for a long time, it was how he'd survived this long but he recognised they would not save his child.

Tom stepped up to the door and looked into the room. He gave a curt nod, before stepping back. Takehaya stepped back to the door drinking in the sight of his baby, wishing he were in there. Wishing he was by Kyoko's side not outside looking in.

* * *

" _Kyoko, he's amazing_." Sasha said as she had gently laid the swaddled baby by Kyoko's head, he was so small and adorable. He made the tiniest little squeaks and huffs as he was settling down. Kyoko smiled as she looked at her baby, not feeling anything but joy at seeing her son.

" _Happy birthday, Kaito._ " Kyoko whispered to her son. She reached out and touched Sasha's hand and smiled at her. " _Thank you, so much._ " she told her with immense gratitude.

" _You're the one who deserves the credit_. Congratulations." Sasha told her.

"Sasha, we need to close her up." Rios said gently, reminding her that there was still work that needed to be done.

 _"Kyoko, the doctor needs to close the incision to your abdomen. So please be still for him. I also saw your husband looking in would you like me to take Kaito to meet him?_ " Sasha asked her, Kyoko nodded emphatically.

" _Please,_ " Kyoko told her.

" _Of course, I'll see you a little bit_." Sasha said as she gently lifted Kaito into her arms. He was so small and light, she felt like she was holding something so incredibly precious and wonderful as she walked around the table to the door and moved the baby to one side and opened the door.

Tom helped open the door for her and she stepped into the hallway. Takehaya stepped back allowing her the space but looked at his son anxious to meet him. She moved to Takehaya with a smile. He looked to Tom and then to Sasha unsure of himself.

" _Your son, Kaito._ " She told him in Japanese as she gently adjusted her hold on Kaito, Takehaya stepped up to her and took his son into his arms. The baby made small noisy breaths at being jostled but soon settled into a light slumber in his father's arms. She watched as Takehaya's expression softened with immense love for the baby boy in his arms but there was an undertone of grief to him as they all knew that without a cure for Takahaya and his wife, their son would be an orphan.

* * *

"What-" Jacob looked to his wall and well his apartment as the place was a mess. He'd only been gone for half the day. He took a step to his story board and grimaced as something crunched under his foot. Val Raymond was a pig, proof of that was under his foot as he looked down to see a smooshed cheeto on the carpet. "What did you do to my apartment?" he demanded.

"Hey, you're back did you bring food for lunch?" she asked him, as he typed away on her computer. She was on his lounge with her boots kicked up on the coffee table.

"There's food on the floor." he offered pointing to the cheeto he'd stepped on. She looked at his foot and gave him a sweet smile.

"If you hadn't have stepped on it then I would have eaten it." she informed him, Jacob looked at her for moment because he couldn't seem to understand why he believed her and wasn't disgusted by that claim.

"Where did you get all of this?" He asked changing the topic and pointing to her wall. There were maps and paperwork talking about food distribution and supplies being rerouted among other things.

"I hacked the White House servers." Val said dismissively as she continued working on her laptop. Jacob whipped his head around to her.

"You can't do that." Jacob told her.

"I did." Val said admitting to a crime.

"You can't tell me that." Jacob said pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a breath to soothe his nerves. Maybe he wasn't built to be an investigative reporter as this was all a bit too much for him. He didn't want to go to jail for being an accessory to Val's crimes either.

"But I did, can we now focus on this and did you get my message to Kara and the others?" Val asked him.

"No." Jacob told her, he hadn't had the time to do so yet given he'd been working.

"Dude." Val said in a chastising tone.

"Don't dude me, I had work while you were eating all my food and making a mess of the place." Jacob told her.

"This is my process. Can you focus on the bigger picture or do you need half an hour to collect yourself?" Val asked sarcastically, she placed her computer to the side and rose from the lounge and stood by the wall.

"Go ahead." Jacob said as he might as well know what she'd found.

* * *

"The Chinese are likely employing a standard line abreast search pattern with spacing at 80% of their radar range." Sasha said as she leaned over the map in the wardroom telling Tom, Mike and Garnett what they were up against. The only reason she knew Chinese Naval procedures was that she'd studied her enemy and their tactics.

"That's right. My guess is they'll circle back from open water and close in on us hiding in the pass. And it won't be long before they find us." Garnett said agreeing with her.

"Soon as the sun rises, we'll be completely exposed." Mike said which meant they couldn't hide forever as they only had about 4 hours until sunrise.

"So then what are our options?" Sasha asked them, she might know what the Chinese Navy would do but she had no clue what the Nathan James would do. They didn't seem to be following any protocols and she'd never really studied American Navy.

"Only one. Take on all four ships. Wait till their search pattern brings them back in range, then break EMCOM and go active." Tom told her, Sasha frowned as it sounded like another suicidal plan given the odds were against them.

"Target, fire, get the hell out of the way." Mike said supporting Tom's plans. He knew once the Chinese Fleet was destroyed they'd only have to contend with Pirates but in all that. They'd be able to contact home. He'd be able to talk to Kate so he was happy to follow Tom's lead on this. Happy to be imbued with the confidence that they'd beat the odds.

"We'll hit them, but there's no way they won't hit us back." Sasha told them.

"Well, if it comes to a fight, we'll sink 'em all." Mike told her.

* * *

Kate frowned at Lena as she looked at key on the table. She needed something from the car but she knew this was some sort of test as Lena, Maddy and Zoe all waited for her to pick it up. All of them refused to just hand it to her which solidified her suspicions about it being a test.

"Did you guys do something to the key?" She asked them.

"No," Lena assured her.

"Then why won't any of you pick it up?"

"Caus-" Zoe started but Lena covered her mouth with her hand; silencing Zoe. Kate narrowed her eyes at them all.

"This is some kind of test to see what gender the baby is, isn't it?" she asked them as she folded her arms and looked to them all.

"No, it's just a key." Lena said with a smile, Kate looked at the key wondering whatever it could tell them if she picked it up.

She wasn't sure but figured it had to like tossing a coin where she had to pick one end in this case. So she gave them a smart ass smile and daintily picked the key up in the middle where the shoulder met the bow of the key. Lena looked annoyed while Maddy just looked perplexed. Zoe who'd been given speaking privileges cheered.

"Kate picked up the key!" Zoe said.

"Yeah, by the middle what does that mean Nanna?" Maddy asked, Kate had to admit if trying to thwart Lena's attempt to find out the sex of her child got Maddy on board with having a new sibling on the way. She'd stow her annoyance at it.

"It means nothing until she holds it properly." Lena said with a smug smile, Kate gave Lena the same smile as two could be juvenile and play at this game.

"I'm going out to the car and opening it with the middle of the key just because I know it won't give any of you answers." Kate told them in a teasing tone.

* * *

Mike stood in the hallway just outside the infirmary, he'd been notified that Takehaya had wanted to talk to him. The ship was prepared for the worst and the crew were ready to take action. They were one hour away from engaging the Chinese Navy. He watched as Takehaya cradled his newborn son, the scene tugging on his heart as it reminded him of when his children were so young, it reminded him of how he had another baby on the way. It all made him ache for home.

"Takehaya." Mike said to the man, getting his attention as he knew if he thought about his kids any further it would just make him feel morose. He needed to focus on the task at hand and surviving the night with the ship intact. Takehaya turned and gently passed Kaito into Sasha's arms and walked to him, stopping before him.

"Captain, if I'm not mistaken, your ship is currently positioned in the Jinhshan Pass. You have evaded the Chinese for the moment, but soon, they will have you surrounded. You intend to fight them all at once?" he asked them, Mike made no indication of his answer to the question as he stared down Takehaya. "I have a better plan, but we must hurry." he told him.

"Why should I trust you now you've changed your tune?" Mike asked him.

"I may be a dishonourable man but as long as I breathe I still have a chance to redeem myself and my family's honour. So that my son won't live with my shame. Please, Captain." He told him, his tone softly pleading for Mike to allow him a chance. Mike gave a nod and stepped out gesturing for him to follow him.

* * *

Kara propped Frankie's hands on the bottle helping her little girl learn how to hold the bottle. It'd definitely make life easier for them both even if three months old was a little early. It was a worth a try. Frankie kept her hands on the bottle but didn't quite grasp the mechanics as Kara still had to hold the bottle up for her to eat.

But that was fine with her as she liked these small moments and the trust Frankie had in her as she relaxed in Kara's arms and looked up at her. Her heart warmed looking down at her baby girl.

"I can't find a clue to where Val would be. Dead or alive." Ravit said with a sigh as she poured sugar into her coffee and stirred it. They were sitting in an outdoor cafe taking an afternoon break from their work. Well, Ravit was taking a break while Kara just spent time with her daughter. But it was nice to just be outside even if Kara had a mountain of other things she could be doing.

"Well, if she's gone then there's nothing we can do." Kara said, she hated admitting defeat but with no clues to follow. Well, Val was on her own.

* * *

"CNO on the Bridge. Captain on the Bridge." Jeter announced to the bridge. Tom and Mike stepped into the room and moved out the way allowing Takehaya in.

The man stepped onto the bridge and everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the main who'd been a catalyst to why they were here. Mike saw Jeter's expression grow dark as he stepped towards the man, but Mike caught his eye and Jeter stopped. He gave Mike a slightly pleading look mixed in with 'what the hell is he doing here?'. Mike gave him a stern look and nodded to him hoping Jeter would understand to step down as everything was fine. Jeter didn't look happy but he did step back into his role and looked to the front of the bridge.

Takehaya bowed to them, showing deference to them. Mike gestured to Gator's station and Takehaya moved to it. Mike watched and Granderson and Gator exchanged looks of discomfort at being in Takehaya's presence. He wanted to order them to get over it. If anyone deserved to be uncomfortable or affronted by the man's presence it was Mike and those who'd been kidnapped by him. The others needed to show their professionalism and the way he glared at Gator made the man's back straighten as he moved to his station to work with Takehaya.

"This is the safest way out of this island group." Takehaya told them as he gestured to the map on the desk.

"You're certain?" Tom asked him, Takehaya gave a nod and Tom looked to Mike. Mike took a deep breath to settle his own nerves as it took a lot to trust Takehaya even after all the hours he'd tried to convince the man to help them.

"OOD, come to course 1-2-5. All ahead flank." Mike ordered.

"Aye, sir. Helm, make course 1-2-5, all ahead flank." Granderson said repeating the order to Helm who repeated the order and changed course. Takehaya moved away from the table and moved to the window. He stood on the bridge as if he owned it and folded his arms across his chest and looked out the window.

* * *

"Here you are." Jesse said as she leaned through the open door to the Infirmary. She'd been searching all over the ship for Sasha as she'd woken up to all the alarms and red lights flashing. She had no clue what was going on and frankly didn't care except that she wasn't allowed to have a smoke. So she went in search of Sasha and ignored anyone who told her to return to her quarters.

If they were going to be sunk in some kind of crisis then Jesse wasn't going sit in her quarters alone waiting for the end. So she'd come across Wolf and some of the special ops boys playing poker in the crew lounge. She'd declined being dealt into the game as poker wasn't any fun unless she could lit up and crack a can of cherry cola.

"Hey, you shouldn't be wondering the ship." Sasha informed her gently as she turned around; Jesse spotted the small baby in her arms. She stepped into the room and moved to take a closer look.

"Cute." Jesse remarked casually as she gently pulled back the blanket to look at the wrinkly looking baby. It wasn't very cute at all but Jesse knew better than to say it out loud. But it hadn't missed her attention how at ease Sasha was with the baby in arms and the soft look of contentment on her face.

"His name is Kaito, you want a hold?" Sasha asked her with a smile.

"Ah-ok." Jesse said awkwardly, she was not a kid person nor did she ever once feel her biological clock tick. She was pretty sure she didn't have a maternal bone in her body. Sasha gently transferred the baby into her arms and Jesse looked down at the baby who moved his lips like a sleepy old man before staying asleep. She felt relief the kid wasn't awake as it would make this a whole new level of awkwardness as this was completely foreign to her.

"His mother is sleeping for the time being. He was born via c-section, there was this moment where I thought he might have been still born but he was alive and so beautiful." Sasha told her, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Jesse looked to her and saw the yearning in Sasha's eyes. She might not be a kid person but didn't mean she didn't want them for herself. She just didn't feel the pull as Sasha clearly did nor would she be heartbroken if it never happened.

"He's pretty alright." Jesse offered as her arms felt uncomfortable holding a baby but said nothing as it meant a lot to Sasha. Part of being with Sasha meant having kids, that was something Jesse liked the idea of, especially if the kid looked like Sasha. "So I'm think I'll need my own cave when we get a place." Jesse told her.

"A cave?" Sasha asked in

"You know a shed where I can hide from the kids and have a smoke and cherry cola in peace." Jesse told her as she adjusted Kaito in her arms into a more comfortable position. Luckily he remained asleep through it.

"You could quit smoking." Sasha said with a teasing smile. Jesse gave her an incredulous look.

"Why would I do that?" Jesse asked her, Sasha opened her mouth to argue why quitting smoking was a good thing and shut it as they had been and had that conversation. One thing they both knew was that if Jesse was going to change, it would be her choice and no amount of arguing or conversation was had.

"So you want kids?" Sasha asked her.

"Well, don't you?" Jesse asked her.

"Yeah," Sasha said with a soft smile as she looked at Kaito.

* * *

" _Bridge, CIC, we're surrounded again. Slick 32 has three vessels on passive radar._ " TAO Burk said over comm, Alarms sounded on the bridge alerting them to that fact. Mike looked to Takehaya and Tom, though it was briefly discussed, the food chain had changed. Takehaya was in charge, Tom deferred to him and Mike confirmed the orders as he was leaning on both men to know what they were doing. That Tom's gut would save them as it had done before, in essence Mike was back to being an X.O. and in a way he found comfort in it.

"Sir, I recommend we head due south to the Zhulong Atoll for protection." Gator said from his station.

"This was part of the plan, I take it?" Tom asked Takehaya in a low voice as the man exuded confidence and strength a he stared out the front window.

"Maintain course and speed." Takehaya ordered.

"Keep her so." Mike said confirming the order, he could sense the tension from the crew as they didn't trust Takehaya. The man could be leading them into a trap but Mike had to believe that Takehaya wanted his son to live and sinking the Nathan James was not conducive to that.

"Sir, we are heading directly into open water. Once they have a clear path, they can triangulate and fire on us almost immediately. I strongly recommend we set course 0-5-5." Gator recommended.

"Considered." Mike said but not changing the orders.

"CIC detects the fourth ship on passive, Sir." Granderson informed them.

"They engage fire control?" Tom asked as he looked to Granderson's station.

"Negative, Sir." Granderson replied.

"Prepare countermeasures." Tom told her.

"Stop. Stop engines!" Takehaya shouted over the noise.

"All Stop." Mike ordered, the helmsman did as ordered and the engines powered down and the ship lurched at the change in speed as the ship pulled to a slow drift. They waited a few seconds for Takehaya to explain himself but the man remained silent.

"Engage Kingfisher." Tom ordered, Gator did as he said and the screen above his screen started beeping as mines came up all around them.

"You put us in a minefield." Mike accused Takehaya as the man had to be mad to do this.

* * *

"What a freaking Minefield." Samantha said as she was listening to the news and reading over reports at the table in the main room with the others.

"Tell me about it. Where did Jacob learn about the cure not working?" Allison said grimly.

"People are panicking and rioting over food supplies in most of the major cities like a second pandemic is coming." Alex said as he sat back in his chair like a man without a care in the world.

"Slattery's wife is becoming a real thorn in our side too. We need to silence her and placate the nation with some information." Allison said looking to Michener.

"I doubt they'd believe anything we tell them at the moment." Michener said as this was a nightmare. The regional leaders had zero control over their regions and the nation was losing faith in him. He felt it with every news run, the slip of power and confidence from his fingertips. He just couldn't see a way out of this.

"You can't quell the riots, you haven't enough military personnel." Samantha told him.

"Unless you allow the Regional leaders to use militias-"

"No, the use of Militia is dangerous. Those people have very little to no training and haven't been screened properly to make sure they can even handle being in a violent situation. Even if you allowed militias and one of them ends up massacring civilians because one idiot slipped and misfired his gun? It would destroy your presidency." Samantha told Michener, she didn't want to mention that private armies were dangerous as it meant the regional leaders had control over them not the government.

"If only the Nathan James would answer our hails." Michener said.

"How will they help us?" Alex asked.

"If we know the hostages are alive, that the Nathan James is coming home maybe people will stop for a moment." Samantha said as she had a feeling Michener leaned on Tom way too much but if it helped them keep what little government they had together then so be it.

"Wishful thinking. Michener, I think you need to ask to speak with Christina Slattery privately and give the regional leaders the power they need to get their regions under control." Allison advised him.

"I'll speak with Mrs Slattery and I will think on the how to handle the situation with the riots." Michener said as he rose from his chair leaving them all.

* * *

"All four targets are converging on us, sir. We cannot turn back." Granderson told them.

"This is my minefield. I designed it. I know how those mines operate. I can steer us to is no other option." Takehaya told them. He looked to Mike waiting for his approval. Mike looked to the helmsman.

"Surrender the helm." He ordered, the helmsman gave him a look that said he didn't like it and Mike stared back at him.

"Aye, sir." he replied, as he pulled off his headset and kept his hand on the wheel. Takehaya gave a slight bow to Mike and Tom and moved to the helm. Tom followed and stood by his side as Takehaya took over and started the engine. Mike turned back to looking between Granderson's and Gator's screens seeing how they were progressing as the ship moved forward.

"Okay. Oh, that was close." Gator mumbled as he watched the ship pass by a set of mines on the screen above his station. Mike looked outside the window instead as he felt it was better not to know and trust Takehaya wouldn't blow them out of the water. Not that it was easy to trust him while sweating bullets.

"Sir, Chinese vessels are converging." Granderson said.

"They can have us targeted in 30 seconds, Sir." Gator informed him, Mike gave a nod acknowledging the man as he picked up the phone reciever before his chair and punched in for CIC.

"Man fire stations. Set condition ZEBRA about the ship." Mike ordered.


	33. Chapter 33

_A/N: As always thank you for the lovely reviews and your patience with me. Please Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 33**

* * *

"15 seconds to triangulation." Granderson informed them, as Takehaya continued to steer the ship. They were nearly clear of the mine field which would stand between them and the Chinese fleet. It wouldn't stop them from finding the Nathan James again but it was all about breathing space as they couldn't fire on the Nathan James if they were out of range and vice versa.

"Now this one's tethered. Oh, God. Jesus." Gator said to Takehaya, the last part was muttered under his breath. Mike felt like telling him that God wasn't going to help them but instead kept an eye on the screens keeping up with what was going on. Mike looked to see they had just barely skimmed the mine without detonating it. "We're clear!" Gator announced.

"Surrender the helm." Tom ordered Takehaya, the man stepped away from the helm and the Helmsman took up his station and now it was crunch time for them all.

"Five seconds to triangulation." Granderson told them.

"Hard right rudder! All ahead flank!" Mike ordered, the Helmsman repeated his order and complied moving the ship. Mike held onto the arm of his chair for support as the ship moved harshly at the execution of the turn.

"They're behind us!" Gator announced.

"Prepare to deploy countermeasures." Mike ordered.

"CIC, break EMCOM. Energize SPY, Aegis doctrine on. Prepare to intercept." Granderson said into her headset. Mike picked up the phone receiver as he looked at the screens waiting for the Chinese to attempt firing at them.

"CIC, I wanna know when they fire." Mike said as he kept the phone to his ear waiting, his stomach twisting in knots at the anticipation of battle.

" _Ready, all fire stations?_ " Garnett's voice said over the line. Mike could hear CIC's personnel hollering confirmation that they were ready.

" _All stations manned and ready. Standing by for batteries release."_ TAO Burk said, as three consecutive explosions sounded and Mike frowned as he tried to see on the screens what had exploded as it hadn't been them but it was close as he felt the vibrations in the ship.

"Sir, CIC reports detonations. At least one ship has been struck in the minefield." Granderson told Mike, he listened to CIC as they confirmed in seconds that the other ships had turned off their radars and diverted their course. Obviously they decided to find a way around the islands to avoid the minefield. Mike heard Garnett reset CIC back to condition EMCOM ALPHA ONE.

Relief washed through him as they'd made it for now and the Chinese fleet was down to three. Their odds just got better.

* * *

"We brought you in because you've been making a lot of noise in the media." Michener told her, he thanked Allison as the woman poured out the tea for them and water for them all in his hotel room. He knew if he'd taken tea with Christina in the Old Courthouse she'd be able to run into reporters and he didn't want that. He wanted everything to happen quietly and bring some peace to his turbulent world. It was Allison's suggestion that they have it here and he thought it was a great idea.

"So you want me to shut up?" Christina asked with a smile and tone that made her just as slimy as any politician Michener had met who was only in it for ego. The woman had a price for her silence. "That's why we're here than in your office." Christina added.

"More like I want to give you some reassurances without the media getting into it. They have a way of twisting words. First off, I want to know what I can do to make all of this easier for you and the other families-" Michener started but Christina cut him off.

"I want my husband back and that bitch Lassiter out of this country and away from me and my family. Everything was perfect before she came into our lives." Christina told him.

"I can't get involved with the domestic issues of your family." Michener said as he took a sip of his tea, he frowned as it tasted slightly off but made no comment as he was lucky to have the luxury of tea. So he continued to drink it.

"That isn't true." Christina said taking a sip of the drink Allison had placed in front of her. She flicked a look to Allison and Michener frowned as he didn't understand the reference. "Look, I can make a lot of noise which I've proven to you. People listen to me and I want my husband, my children and the easy life. The ration cards are bullshit and the economy is shit. My husband isn't even being paid properly. How do you expect anyone-" Christina stopped and covered her mouth, she turned slightly pale.

"Are you ok?" Michener asked her.

"I'm going to be sick." Christina said as she stood up with her hand still over her mouth.

"The bathroom is through that door." Michener said, Christina rushed to his bathroom and shut herself in. Michener winced as he heard her vomiting. He looked to Allison who sat next to him. "What was that look she gave you?" he asked her.

"I have no clue." Allison told him, he frowned as he too started to feel off. He looked at the tea wondering what was wrong with it as he felt like he'd taken one too many of his Xanax. "Are you ok?" she asked him.

"There's-" He swallowed trying to speak but everything swirled and went black.

* * *

"Your boy shows no sign of a virus. Cure works. Though we still can't explain the outbreak in Japan." Tom said to Takehaya as he, Mike and the man had retired to the wardroom. The Chinese Navy fleet hadn't caught up with them and no sign of them so their focus changed back to Takehaya.

"Doc Rios is rebuilding our lab. Hopefully, he'll make progress on that." Mike said, as he'd been the one to check in with Rios and see how Takehaya's wife and child were doing. Kaito was fine, his mother however was still very weak but Sasha was with her helping with the baby's care.

"I don't know how to thank you or how to make things right after all I have done to you." Takehaya said incredibly humble.

"You can start by explaining your connection to Peng. He hire you directly?" Mike asked, glad they'd broken through the man's obstinacy to be able to get somewhere.

"It was not" Takehaya told him.

"The MSS who showed up on your island went after my men and yours. Peng set you up, tried to wipe us both out." Tom argued.

"I was told how to find you in Vietnam by a smuggler." Takehaya told him.

"And what was his cut of a bunch of American sailors?" Mike asked from where he stood, even now he still had a mix of anger and distrust for the man. He highly doubted that it would go away anytime soon.

"Just a promise that I would not pirate certain ships. Ones marked... like this." Takehaya said, he picked up a marker from the table and coloured in the circle of the compass of the map that was on the table before him. He tapped the symbol and looked to them.

"What's so special about those ships?" Tom asked him, he wracked his brain for some kind of recognition of what that symbol could mean or if he'd read about it in a report but came up empty. It meant nothing to him.

"I did not care to ask. At the time, all I wanted was revenge." Takehaya answered.

"This smuggler have a name?" Mike asked.

"Wu Ming." Takehaya said, Tom grimaced as he remembered that asshole.

"Ring a bell?" Mike asked Tom not missing the dark expression on his friend's face.

"He has my watch. I know where to find him. A place called 'Shanzai'." Tom told him.

* * *

"Finally we're here!" Anna said in relief as she needed a shower, proper meal and a bed, along with a sleeping tablet to get a good sleep. Their plane had just taxied to a stop and the back door was opening. She turned to Tex and Kat with a smile as they looked as weary as she was. "Ok, so I'll do all the talking, if they bow then bow back out of respect." she reminded them.

"Got it." Tex said as he picked up Kat's duffel as well as his own. Anna had packed light with just a small backpack with a couple t-shirts, some knickers and her toothbrush plus her meds. She came dressed in black skinny pants with ankle boots, a olive cream striped top under a black suit blazer. Her hair was pulled back so she looked semi business like. It was just easier that way for her to dress comfortably and travel light but important to make a good first impression. They headed down the open backdoor of the Hercules. There were people rushing on to remove the supplies they'd brought with them to help the survivors.

Further away there were three black cars and four official people waiting. Anna walked straight towards them, she pulled out her business card. Not that it held the same significance as before given she was unemployed but it still held her details. It was a tradition to exchange business cards.

A man dressed in a suit stepped forward and Anna bowed before him. _"Thank you for allowing us to come to your country and honouring us with your presence Minister, I am Anna Hatake. It's a pleasure to meet you."_ Anna said in Japanese to him as she held out her business card with both hands. Hiro Yamato was the newly inducted Health Minister for the country, it also surprised Anna to meet him as she assumed he wouldn't bother with them until they had something substantial to give him. Yet here he was with his assistant and entourage.

" _It's a pleasure to meet you too._ " He said bowing and taking her card from her. He pocketed it before he held out his own. Anna took the card and bowed again in thanks. She took his card and placed it into her card case to protect it. She didn't miss the look of approval of the care given to his business card.

" _May I introduce my partner and child, this is Kenneth Nolan and his daughter Kathleen. I apologise but they don't speak Japanese._ " She said making the introductions. She was relieved as they bowed and the Prime Minister shook hands with Tex and Kat's speaking to them in English. It was not normal for a man of his station to do so but it was good to see they weren't met with friction. The Health Minister turned to her.

 _"I've had my assistant organise lodgings for you and your family. As requested it is near where the sick are, though I do caution against it_." he told her.

" _I understand your apprehension but we're here to help and understand the risks_." Anna told him politely as she followed him to one of the cars.

* * *

" _Please hold for the line, Ma'am_." A disembodied voice said over the phone to Samantha. The Nathan James had finally made contact and now Samantha waited, looking at her watch noting the time. Michener was still in a meeting with Mrs Slattery as far as she knew when Major Damon had called her to connect her to the Nathan James.

Samantha half wished that they had hold music as the silence on the other end was disconcerting as she wondered how long she'd wait before giving up.

"This is the CNO, we got 'em." Tom said his voice coming over the line.

"Excellent news, CNO. What is your status?" Samantha asked him wanting more details. Tom gave her brief details that they recovered all the hostages but lost three sailors in the process. The Nathan James was still in good shape but they were currently chasing down leads on how it all came about.

"CNO, with respect but you should be coming home. Whatever Peng is up to is outside our jurisdiction and we haven't the resources to follow it. Our country is currently unstable, the people need good news." Samantha advised him.

" _I disagree, we need to know what Peng is up to and the issue in Japan with this mutation._ " Tom argued, Samantha pinched the bridge of her nose as she didn't have the same pull as Tom. He and his crew were heroes to the US and as such would bring some sense of security to the mess that was happening. Or at least it was worth a try.

"We believe it's a chemical weapon, it's being investigated by the Japanese government." Samantha told him.

" _Even more of a reason to investigate. If there is a chemical weapon being used then we need to stop it's production and take down whoever is responsible. Which is why_ _I'd like to speak with POTUS._ " Tom told her, his tone telling her that he was finished arguing this. They both had equal rank but his position as CNO meant he got the last word.

"I wish I could oblige you but he's in a meeting. I will however have him contact you within the hour." Samantha told him.

" _Very well. One hour, CNO out_." Tom replied and then the line went dead.

* * *

"They can't segregate the country." Jacob argued as he snatched the box of Shanghai noodles from Val's hand and proceeded to eat a bite with his fork. They'd ordered Chinese food for an early dinner and it was quick and the dead if Jacob wanted to eat as Val really didn't have any manners to share.

"But they are." Val told him, it was a theory he had spun for him and he was not swallowing it.

"Can you not be so contrary?" Jacob asked her.

"You're the one with his panties in a twist. The major regional leaders are slowly swallowing up the smaller counties and carving up the place for themselves. I have evidence that they've got moles in the White House who have been circumventing tax payer's dollars to building large concrete walls to make the borders permanent. They are stockpiling food where the red dots are which FYI are prisons." Val told him, he could see all her work but it was all too ludicrous to believe as he couldn't see the end game or why the regional leaders would want to cripple an already broken country.

"They can't put up concrete walls. That's impossible and not one state can be self sufficient." Jacob argued as it all sounded preposterous to him.

"The Regional leaders might agreements to exchange resources as long as they keep their territories." Val said not even put off by his disbelief.

"This is insane and how does it loop back to Asia and the mutation? As well as the MSS being involved?" Jacob asked her, Val just grinned at him in a way that made him wonder how much of an ulcer he was going to get from asking. But it was too late now as he was in for it all.

"I'm so glad you asked." Val said.

* * *

Michener stirred awake at a noise, his mouth bone dry and his head pounding like he'd gone a bad drinking bender which wasn't like him. The noise that had woken him sounded again and he cracked open an eye wishing he hadn't as the scene before him made his stomach turn.

His room was completely trashed, blood and broken glass was everywhere. Paramedics and police were in the room. He tried to rise up but a police officer held him to the ground.

"Lay still Sir."

"What happened?" Michener asked as a paramedic checked him over. He ignored the man's questions as he wanted to know what happened.

"That man is a monster!" Allison shouted, Michener looked to her and felt his eyes grow wide as she was covered in cuts and bruises. Her blouse torn, fear in her pale features as she was pointing at him. Tears streamed down her face as she kept shouting profanity at him as people took her out of the room.

"What happened?" Michener asked not understanding. Were they attacked? Where was Mrs Slattery? He turned his head to the side and that was when he saw her lifeless body on the floor. Why was Allison pointing at him as the attacker? His brain hurt from the questions and the nauseating smell of the room.

"Sir, you don't remember?" the police officer asked.

"No." Michener said.

* * *

Kate's eyes went wide at the news in disbelief as she adjusted her hold on Frankie. She was hoping for an update on Mike and the Nathan James when new broke out that Michener had cracked it. Not only had he cracked it but he'd killed one woman and put his chief of staff into hospital. The dead woman had yet to be identified nor what would happen to their country since the President had committed a crime but the reporter promised more details when they came in.

"I didn't see that coming." Lena said to Kate as she took the remote and turned off the TV.

"Neither did I. Honestly surprised he could kill someone." Kate said to Lena.

"This isn't pleasant TV for a baby." Lena told her as she gave Frankie a tiny tummy tickle earning a cute gurgle.

"She's 3 months old." Kate argued.

"They are sponges for information and energy." Lena assured her.

"Ok, well no more TV." Kate said not bothering to argue with Lena. the home phone rang and Kate smiled happy for a distraction. "That has to be Anna." Kate said as she went to the phone. "Hello." she said as she answered it.

" _Kate?"_ Mike's voice came over the line crackled.

* * *

" _Mike?"_ Kate answered, Mike smiled in relief as the line was open. Sure it was a crap reception but just hearing her voice was a salve to his hurts.

"Yeah, it's me." He answered, so grateful to have this chance to talk to her. He figured that Tom allowed the short phone call for him because he feared Mike might lose it. Hell, Mike was nearly ready to call mutiny to get home. Not that he'd ever cross that line in reality, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sit still or relax until this moment.

"How are you?" She asked, he could hear the relief in her voice at hearing from him.

"Better now that I can hear your voice. How are you? How are the kids?" He asked, so desperate to be home with them but knowing he couldn't be there until they figured out the mess with Takehaya and Peng.

"They are good, it's so good to hear your voice." Kate told him.

"Same here, so how are you?" He asked desperate to know how the pregnancy was treating her. Just hearing her voice relaxed his frayed nerves and soothed the ache in his chest at not knowing what was going on with her.

"Good." she said, but he craved details.

"Pregnancy isn't too hard?" He asked her.

"No, everything is normal. I had an ultrasound, the baby apparently looks healthy and active. Good heartbeat. I have anemia but your Mom is looking after it." Kate said, Mike smiled at that. "You're not missing much except me sleeping on the lounge a lot." Kate said with a casual air that made his smile broaden as he could just imagine her laying starfished on the couch, drooling and making soft snoring sounds.

"I'm missing everything." He told her, not to make her feel bad or himself but to make it known that he missed her and being home. He felt a lump in throat and his eyes burned as he really did want to be at him with Kate and the kids. He hadn't realized how burnt out he felt until that moment and how he really was tired of missing out on everything because of his work.

"Then come home." Kate said in a soft cajoling manner.

"I will soon." he said glad he was missed and that when she said 'come home' it sounded like a warm invitation.

"I'll try and keep my legs crossed so the baby doesn't come out before you're back." Kate said, Mike couldn't help but laugh as he wiped at his eyes. the imagery and knowing Kate's stubbornness enough to bring a laugh out of him.

"I will be back before that." he assured her.

"How much time do we have?" she asked him referring to the phone call.

"Not much." Mike said.

"The girls are here. I'm putting you on speaker." Kate said, Mike waited and a second later the acoustics of the other end changed as the noise in the room filtered in.

"Daddy!" Zoe yelled, Mike had to pull the phone away from his ear as his baby girl had screamed it right into the receiver on the other end. He heard Maddy and his mom say 'hi' as Kate reminded Zoe she didn't have to shout so close to the phone.

"Who's that barking in the background?" he asked them.

"That's Scout, he's happy to hear you too." Zoe said, her cheerful voice brought tears to his eyes as he missed his babies. He smiled as he could picture them all at Kate's house, he could even picture the dog who was whining in a happy manner as Kate told him to hush in a quiet tone in the background as the girls talked to him. Well, more like talked at him and argued about everything from the dog, to Kate having a baby and living with Nanna. His Mom interjected every once and while to remind the girls He didn't ask about the living arrangements.

He learnt that Scout their dog was awesome but only seemed to listen to Kate. They were undecided about the new sibling, Zoe didn't really have an understanding of what it was like to not be the youngest or understand that the dynamics would change. So she seemed ok about it as long as the baby was a girl. Maddy didn't say much on the matter which spoke volumes. But he wasn't in the position to help matters other than to tell them take care of one another and lie about his job.

"We saw you on the TV. Are you sure you're ok?" Zoe asked him.

"Much better now that I'm talking to you all but I do need to go. So I love you and take care." he told them, he waited until Kate was back on the line.

"Back with me, there's something you should know before you go. Barbara Miller died, there was a fire. It destroyed the whole farm and surrounding crops. I thought you should know in case Miller tries to call home." Kate informed him. Mike cursed as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"I wish I had better news but it's all a mess back home." Kate said with a sigh.

"Tell me what you look like." Mike said with a smile.

"You know what I look like." Kate said in a stirring manner.

"You got a bump yet?" He asked wondering what other changes he was missing in regards to her body. They hadn't really discuss having more children and if anything he knew he had the power to veto it or not. Except nature and condom failure made the decision for them. He definitely wasn't upset about it or angry as he'd expected to feel. Instead he was happy and a little sad as he wanted to be with her. Watch her go through the changes and look after her and the girls. It made him feel like he should be reevaluating his career choices at the moment. That perhaps he should give up command of the Nathan James and take shore duty like he'd meant to before the pandemic.

"Nope and I'm wearing my yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt. Those cute cotton hipster knickers you like and a very sexy sports bra that makes me look like a boy." Kate remarked, Mike couldn't help but laugh.

"You know comms is monitoring this call right?" he asked her.

"Yeah, should I mention I haven't washed my hair in a week?" Kate asked with a chuckle.

"That's disgusting." he told her with a smile on his face, though he honestly didn't care and she knew that as she was just stirring the pot and wondering what would filter through the crew rumours. Though he knew nothing would be spoken of.

"I love you too." Kate told him.

"I should go, take care of yourself and the girls. Don't let Mom push you around on the sex of the baby." Mike said to her.

"Yeah we'll see as I'm outnumbered on that." Kate said with a chuckle.

"I love you." Mike told her.

* * *

"We still have quarantine zones in place but they are more to keep the sick in one place while we rebuild the rest of the country." Hiro told Anna as they drove from the airport. Anna couldn't help but notice the disrepair Japan was in. The streets were clean and tidied but the houses and businesses were empty and some in serious need of maintenance. It was like a ghost town.

"How many people are in the quarantine zones?" Anna asked as Hiro had told her that the naturally immune and those who'd survived the virus were in small communities outside the cities and in more rural areas helping cultivate their own food resources and function. There were tiny pockets of people still in the city but they were only there to help keep some of the infrastructure in place so as not to completely cut Japan off from the rest of the world. There were also workers who helped tend the sick and others who had restaurants and businesses to cater to those. Everyone had a purpose that lent to taking care of the next person. Given how few there were alive, it was an easy feat to manage.

"less than 1000 and it's declining quickly. The virus is more virulent than ever before, we only have over 3000 survivors. Our race is dying." Hiro said.

"But the naturally immune remain unaffected?" Anna asked ignoring the comment as she knew Hiro was a purist, he believed anyone who wasn't full blooded Japanese born on Japanese soil wasn't really Japanese. It was stupid but it was his belief.

"Yes, I wish we had the scientists to help solve this mystery. The immunes faction in Europe are sent one of their scientists to help us. Dr Paul Vellek, he is working to help us find a way to decontaminate our soils and crow crops. He is also helping with finding a cure for the sick as they have Scientists who are not immune that they need to protect." Hiro said to her.

"I'd like to speak to speak with him if I could. He could probably help Dr Scott with this problem and his work." Anna said.

"I will get my assistant to set up a meeting. Though I don't see any hope for the sick, all we can do is make them comfortable." Hiro said resigned to the nature of the situation.

* * *

"You can't tell him." Tom argued.

"I know the rules but this world is very different from the old one. His ankle is broken, he won't be mission ready for at least 8 weeks if that. So I think it's our responsibility to tell him." Mike said as his mind was set.

If Miller were in top physical shape he'd keep the news to himself but he couldn't. Miller had a tough run at the camp and was dealing with a lot. He knew it wasn't going to be easy swallowing on the information his mother was dead but it would be worse if they waited. Hell, the kid was excited to call home, so they couldn't not tell him.

"He needs time." Tom said, but Mike knew that time would help no one.

"So what? we hope the phone line is dead and then not care?" Mike asked.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Kate and the girls but this is very different." Tom said.

"I'd want to know, he's got the support structure here to help him." Mike argued.

* * *

"This can't be right, the Nathan James and the other military branches would jump in to stop this." Jacob argued as Val explained to him again how the Regional leaders were taking over America.

"Not if it's an order from the top. Michener has just been arrested for Murder and aggravated assault. I'd say he's going to be impeached and so they can put in their own guy and do what they want." Val argued. Jacob didn't need to be reminded as one of his co-workers scooped him on that story. It really rankled him that he was banking on Val's story was something that could trump it but so far it was all crazy.

"This is a whole level of crazy conspiracy even for you-" A knock sounded at the door, Jacob and Val exchanged looks.

"You expecting someone?" she asked him.

"No." Jacob said, he moved to the door and looked through the peep hole and then looked back at Val who was hiding behind the wall waiting for something to happen but instead he unlocked the door to Kara and Ravit.

"How I didn't put this together sooner boggles me." Kara said as she and Ravit came into the room, Jacob kept his mouth shut about how they didn't even wait for him to welcome them in as he felt like all the Nathan James women were pushy. So it was best to not argue and roll with it.

"I knew you'd find me." Val said with a smile as she walked back into the living room with them behind her.

"Only you'd spill on the virus not being a mutation and he'd be the only idiot to pick it up and run with it." Kara said gesturing from Val to Jacob.

"Hey." Jacob said offended. "I'm not an idiot." he said defensively.

"What is going on?" Kara asked ignoring Jacob.

"The MSS are after me and I have evidence they have a spy in the white house I just don't know who." Val said as she gestured to the living room that was a mess of papers and information stuck to the walls.

"Have you decoded the messages?" Ravit asked as she moved to one of the windows.

"Not yet, I've been distracted on something a little bigger here." Val told them.

"What have you found?" Kara asked.

* * *

"Could I please have some more beans?" Zoe asked, Kate and Lena looked at the girl suspiciously as she didn't like her greens.

"Scout." Kate said, the puppy raced out from presumably Zoe's chair to Kate's feet. Kate picked the puppy up and into her lap as she moved her chair back. So Scout couldn't eat from her plate. "By all means, eat as many beans as you like." Kate told her as she really needed to figure out a solution to stop Scout from eating scraps.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Zoe announced which wasn't a shocker to anyone at the table.

"Great, more dessert for me." Lena said with a smile.

"What?!" Zoe said with a shocked face but before Lena or Kate could reply the front door was kicked in. Kate dropped Scout onto his feet and rose as soldiers rushed in girls screamed and Kate felt something sharp hit her in the neck and arm. She felt a little woozy from the adrenaline of being hit. She pulled out the sharp object out of her neck to find it was a tranquilizer dart.

"What?" She asked confused as the soldiers shouted at them all them to not move. But Kate couldn't comply as she lost feeling in her body and she felt herself slide onto the ground as her world faded to black.

* * *

"Where's Grandpa again?" Ashley asked, it wasn't that she didn't mind Rachel being the only adult home it was that her cooking was left a lot to be desired. Something Ashley couldn't understand as cooking was basically chemistry yet Rachel sucked at it. She was a scientist.

"He's having dinner with his friends." Rachel said, though she had a feeling it was one friend and that friend was female. Not that she'd say that out loud.

"Oh, ok." Ashley said, she was about ask another question when the front door imploded in. Rachel pushed Ashley under the table as soldiers dressed in combat gear and carrying guns. She knew there was no escape as she heard the back door of the house be kicked in and more footfalls.

"Whoa, who the hell are you?" Rachel demanded with her hands up in surrender.

"Dr Scott, you and the children are coming with us. You have 5 minutes to pack two bags and then we're out of here." One of the masked soldiers informed her.

"We're not going anywhere with you until you explain what is going on!" Rachel demanded.

"There has been a threat issued against the families of the Nathan James. We're here to take you to a safe location. Now hurry." he told her, her eyes narrowed at him as she knew Tom would never allow this to happen. She also didn't miss the fact that the men didn't have any identifiers on their uniforms and wore balaclavas. This was no rescue but a kidnapping.

"I want proof." Rachel demanded, pushing her luck because the more information she had the more she could share later when there was a ransom. Presumably communication with Tom.

"Just pack your bags." he ordered raising his weapon at her. They stared at one another for a long time, until he took the safety off his weapon and held it tighter to his frame. Rachel knew then it was time to comply.

"Ashley go get your brother and pack your bags. I'll look after the twins." Rachel said to her. Ashley was white as a ghost as she slowly got out from under the table but she nodded. Acknowledging Rachel's request before she headed up the stairs.

* * *

"When?" Kara demanded as Val sounded insane but she wasn't willing to risk her being wrong. Val usually had all the facts she just tended misinterpret them. But right now, all Kara could see was the Regional leaders using the confusion of Michener's crimes to round up the Nathan James, Shackleton and Haywood crews' families and use them as leverage to get the Navy to submit to their control.

It would make sense, if Kara thought like Val, she could see how Christina had won custody of the girls and rocked up Captain Slattery's world but more importantly it rocked Kate's making it easier for them to make a grab for the company. It had worked. Now Christina was dead, they didn't have to worry about the woman telling anyone the truth of her situation.

"Tonight," Ravit said as she looked out the window. Kara moved to the window to see what Ravit was looking at as Val gave a nod to agree with her. She drew back the curtain carefully and her eyes went wide as she looked down to the ground floor and saw the soldiers coming towards the building they were in.

"Someone must have followed us or tracked our mobile phones. We need to get out of here now." Ravit said, Kara rushed to the window and looked out cursing under her breath.

"Pack up what you can." Kara told Val and Jacob.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

* * *

"Rachel! here let me help you." Lena said as she got out of her chair and took one of the baby car seat carriers from her. They'd all been herded onto a greyhound bus but unlike it's predecessors this bus had all of it's windows blacked out and the front area was completely obscured from view by a heavy curtain and soldiers guarding it.

The bus however already had two other families on board when Lena, Scout and the girls were gently forced onto the bus. The guards hadn't like Scout being brought along but Lena assured them in a delicate and polite manner that if they were reunited with Kate, that she'd find Scout's absence quite distressing and perhaps 'snap' like she had in Baltimore Labs. The soldiers had begrudgingly allowed it as there wasn't a soul over the age of 15 who didn't know what Kate was capable of and knew better than to tempt fate.

"Thanks. This is insane. Do you know what's going on?" Rachel asked her as the bus was not made for transporting babies. It was just a small blessing that she had a diaper bag and a few sundries for the twins but it didn't ease the mistreatment of being shuffled around.

"No idea." Lena said as she wedged the baby car seat into the seat closest to the window, Evie didn't even stir from motions which was a blessing while Olivia was crying madly as she had woken up during them being hustled out of the house.

"Where's Kate?" Rachel asked as she did as Lena had with Olivia's seat, the bus started to move and Rachel toppled slightly from the motion but recovered quickly enough and sat down pulling Olivia out of her seat.

"They drugged her and took her away. They won't tell us anything." Lena said with a withering sigh as she'd tried to find out but the soldiers wouldn't say anything except for her to return to her seat. With the girls, a puppy and Frankie; well her hands were full. At least Maddie was old enough to be able to keep an eye on Frankie while the baby girl slept in her lap.

"It's ok darling, everything is going to be ok." Rachel told Olivia as she held Olivia close, letting her cry out the stress. She looked to Lena "Who are the others?" she asked.

"Military families. They have loved ones serving, they had the same treatment as us." Lena explained, Olivia's crying died down to a whimper as the hum of the engines and being held lulled her to sleep.

"Why would they be rounding up military families?" Rachel asked.

"Who knows and where's Jed?" Lena asked.

* * *

"Hold it!" a voice boomed in front of them. Kara cursed under her breath as they'd just taken down four soldiers just to get to the back gate of the apartment block. It hadn't been easy given they didn't want to kill anyone. Ok, Kara hadn't wanted to kill anyone while Ravit stated if the soldiers were dead they couldn't chase them. There had been a quick vote and Kara won only because Jacob and Val knew nothing about hand to hand combat let alone how to hold a gun.

Kara and Ravit took up defensive posture in front of Val and Jacob with their weapons raised and ready. The two soldiers dressed in black garb wearing balaclavas mirrored them. "Put down the weapons." one of the ordered, Kara frowned as the voice was very familiar to her.

"Justin?" She asked him.

"Kara, " He replied, he didn't remove his balaclava but it was him. She would recognise that voice anywhere. "I'm going to have to get you to put down those weapons." he told them.

"Can't do that, we need to get out of here." Kara told him, she didn't want to shoot him. Sure the breakup hadn't been fun in fact the man deserved to be shot but that was a long time ago. They'd learned to be friends out of the mess of their relationship. It probably helped that they barely socialized in the same circles but here they were seeing each other for the first time in three years.

"You're mixing with the wrong people." Justin told her.

"No, you got your orders from the wrong people." She told him, correcting his assumption.

"Maybe, but they have my kid." Justin said, Kara swallowed as she thought of Frankie and how she'd failed her daughter. Val had told them as they rushed down the fire escape about how the families were possibly being rounded up and being used as collateral to control the remaining military service men and women. She didn't want to believe it but it was true. She sucked in a breath and mentally told herself now was not the time to cry and focused on Justin.

"They have my family and friends too, we can help. Our goals are the same to save our families but you have to let us go. Please Justin." She pleaded as she lowered her weapon.

 _"Fingers, status report_." came over Justin's radio.

"All clear here, we must have missed them." Justin reported back over his radio, he looked at her "Go, and meet me tomorrow 0400 at the place I took you on out first date." he told her as he and his partner lowered their weapons and stepped to the side. Kara gave a nod and didn't ask anything more as she and the others rushed past them to get to Kara's car.

Once they were in the safety of their vehicle, Ravit turned on the engine and slowly drove away without the lights on. "We'll need to change cars and ditch out phones." She added once they were a block away. It seemed like no one was following them but it would be stupid to not take precautions.

"Who's Justin?" Val asked.

"Why do they call him fingers?" Jacob added from the backseat of the car.

"An ex." Kara said, she looked over her shoulder and saw the look on Val's face. "Oh come on I wasn't a virgin when I met Danny." she said as Val looked confused and somewhat shocked by the revelation that Kara had an 'ex'.

"I wasn't thinking that." Val said holding her hands up in surrender.

"Really?" Kara scoffed.

"I was, but all guys want to believe they are the first." Jacob said, Kara flipped him the bird as he was a real pain in her ass even when he wasn't trying.

"I was thinking you got a type. Special forces tickle your fancy hey?" Val said teasingly. Kara gave her a tired look as she wasn't going to rise to bait instead she looked to Ravit who had the same expression as her.

"This is going to be a long night." Kara said as her phone rang, she picked up her phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Kara." Jed's phone came over the line.

"Jed! What's happening?" Kara asked him, she held onto the slim hope that he'd tell her everything was ok.

"Soldiers apparently came through and took away Rachel and the kids. The house is empty. I'm at Kate's and they're all gone too." Jed told her, Kara's heart sank.

"Frankie was with them." Kara said her heart sinking as she wished Val had called them sooner to tell them what was going on. But it was too late, all they could do now was damage control until they figured out where the families had been taken and then plan a rescue.

"I know, her diaper bag is gone. We'll find them but for now we need to meet up. There's a diner on 5th and 8th. I'll meet you there." Jed told her, Kara nodded.

"Ok. We'll meet you there and Jed, be careful we're being tracked." She warned him, she hung up the phone and looked to Ravit. "Make a left." she told her, the woman nodded and turned at the next street on their left.

"Isn't 5th and 8th like-" Jacob stopped as he realised what was going on "It's a code, of course you have codes." He said as if he was stupid not to think about it before.

"Yeah dweeb, this isn't our first barbecue." Val told Jacob.

* * *

"We've been monitoring the news from home. There's something you both need to see." Granderson told Tom and Mike as they came into the comms room to find it empty of the usual staff. She closed the door to the room and turned on the screen where a news bulletin from home played.

" _This is Anita Tucker, reporting live for AMT News from the St. Louis White House, where Michener's administration is still in shock. There has been fears that the government will shut down in the light of this afternoon's violent and tragic events. It is unclear at this point as to what will happen to our government but it has been confirmed that Michener suffered a mental break and murdered Christina Slattery, Captain Michael Slattery's wife. It has come to light-"_ The news piece continued where they were informed that Christina Slattery had been working for an escort business with known ties to sex and drug trafficking. Her children had been neglected in her pursuit for money and was seen frequenting the Presidential suite. The piece went on revealing Michener's past mistakes and suicide attempt. Information Tom had tried to keep from the press but now came to light as they questioned whether Michener was even in the right state of mind to take office.

Mike shook his head and left the room, not able to digest what they were being told and because he knew the crew would know. There was no such thing as a secret on the ship.

"Turn it off." Tom said, the story was more scandalous drama than informational but it did show that their government had just disintegrated. He couldn't believe it, Michener was not a violent man, he was too weak willed to commit what the media proclaimed of him. Granderson did as ordered and Tom left the room to follow Mike, he caught up with him about three seconds later as the man's stormed through the ship towards the bridge.

"Mike." Tom said, Mike stopped and turned to him, his expression dark.

"What?" He snapped.

"You ok?" Tom asked in a low voice, the hallways were empty so it was safe to ask.

"I've wished a lot of things on Christina but I didn't want her to be murdered by the man we dredged up to be president, the same man who turned a blind eye to the suffering of a lot people for his selfishness but we propped him up." Mike said scathingly, he hated himself for saying it but he hated Christina and he hated himself for not being sad over her death. he gave him three beautiful children, they'd had a few good years in the mess but all he could think about was how she played him. He also felt betrayed by Michener, guilt for his own part in helping Tom make Michener the President.

"I know, but this isn't like Michener." Tom told him, he didn't think Michener had it in him to kill or hurt another person.

"I don't care about Michener. What are we going to do? Our Commander and Chief committed murder. He's going to be impeached-"

"They'll bring in VP. Oliver to take over before they go for the next step. He's on our side. So let's keep on the course. We need to find out where these biological weapons came from." Tom said, but Mike shook his head.

"We need to go home. Our country needs a president and if we support him, it will give some credibility back to the government." Mike argued as he wanted to go home. His girls had lost their mother and sure Christina wasn't perfect but they knew her as their mother. She was dead.

"No, we need to stay here and follow this lead." Tom told him in a tone that said he was giving an order, Mike's lips set into a fine line as he had a few choice words but kept them to himself instead walking away.

"He's in a mood." Sasha commented as she had to move out of the way for Mike to pass.

"The president murdered his ex-wife." Tom told her, Sasha's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"What?" she asked a knee jerk reaction as it wasn't what she had expected Tom to say.

"That's between us." Tom said, Sasha nodded in agreement as she didn't gossip about anything past what was for breakfast or what others talked about but she only listened never engaging especially if she knew more. It was just her background in Intelligence, keep your secrets close to the vest and keep your ears open for any information that might be passed one's way.

"Maybe we should find a plane to St Louis. Get him back to his family." Sasha suggested to Tom.

"No, he won't go. this is his command, he won't abandon is post." Tom told her, he also knew they couldn't afford taking the time out of their chase to drop Mike off and to do so would impact the ship's morale. He looked to Sasha "You need something or you come here to annoy me?" he asked lightly joking. Sasha gave a small smile as the sibling ribbing.

"Here to ask something." Sasha said carefully as Kyoko had a request and Sasha wanted to run it by Tom first.

"What is it?" Tom asked her.

* * *

"Vice President Oliver just transferred to the C-130 in Panama. He should be on the ground in St. Louis in 8 1/2 hours." Samantha said as she fell into step with Allison. The offices were a mess of activity and Samantha's workload had doubled it as people were rioting, there were fears of their allies might take Michener's crime as an sign of America being unstable which wasn't far from the truth. But the problem was they needed those Allies as America wasn't self sufficient.

"Is Judge Watkins on board?" Allison asked Samantha.

"She is but I don't know why she is." Samantha said, she looked at Allison hating that she was questioning Allison's credibility. The woman was a mess but in the office working mere hours after being attacked. She knew it made her a bitch but she couldn't believe Allison was a victim given how put together she was right now.

"You don't need to know. Please gather all of our background and Intel on Peng and our Asian players. President Oliver is gonna need to get up to speed before he speaks to the regional leaders." Allison told her.

"Already prepped, I'll speak with him directly when he's in office." Samantha said, Allison's back straightened slightly at the notion of Samantha being in the room.

"Just a file will do."

"No it won't, I'm the senior military adviser on staff here. He needs my insights and how to organise bringing in more advisers to represent the other branches of the Military." Samantha told her.

"Oliver has a lot to do, the Military doesn't take precedence over civilians or the Regional leaders." Allison told her.

"Right now the Military have the best knowledge and experience to assist Oliver in how to take back the country." Samantha argued, she narrowed her eyes at Allison and the woman stopped walking and faced Samantha with a confused expression.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You can take time off. It's obvious that you're not thinking clearly given you suffered a traumatic event only a few hours ago." Samantha told her, anger flared in Allison's eyes.

"Would you?" she asked darkly.

"No, but I'm a Marine." Samantha told her, Allison gave a huff of laughter and winced in slight pain.

"We need to shut down the government immediately until Oliver is up to speed and we have a plan." Allison said ignoring the jibe Samantha threw at her making the assumption she wasn't strong enough to cope and continued walking.

"Shutting down the government will cause a lot problems." Samantha said calmly.

"You're talking abut the Nathan James. They need to stand down until the new President can decide what to do." Allison told her.

"You don't have the authority to shut down the government and you can't swear in a new president." Samantha argued.

"Michener resigned after he confessed and nominated Oliver as his successor so that we could move forward. Section one of the 25th Amendment" Allison informed her.

* * *

Kate woke up slowly and groaned as her head pounded like she had gone on a bender with Anna like that one time in Netherlands where they'd been at a bar that served 1 Euro Jägermeister shots. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but waking up the next morning had felt like this. She tried to lift her head and made a reassessment, nope this was worse. She tried to push up but fell back as it was too much for her.

"Take it easy. You're were hit with a little too much of the happy juice." A man with a thick Texan accent said to her left. Kate opened her eyes and winced as the lights in the room were ridiculously bright. She looked like she was in a makeshift hospital as the room was lined with beds and medical equipment. She looked to the source of the voice and saw a jovial looking man in his late fifties. He wore a well tailored suit and his stark white hair immaculately slicked back with a bit of an Elvis quiff.

"What happened?" Kate asked as she tried to remember what happened but came up empty. In fact it was just hard to think and piece together her words. She did know she wasn't strapped to the bed but that didn't mean she was safe. The man at her side seemed like a snake oil salesman.

"We'll get to that, you just need to rest." He told her.

"My baby." She said, her foggy brain realising that she was pregnant and drugged.

"Completely fine, the staff here will take very good care of you. Once you're a little more with us, they'll do an ultrasound so you can be reassured." he told her as he leaned back in his chair. He looked to her with an easy smile on his lips.

"My family?" she asked.

"They are here, I'll take them to you after we've had a bit of a chat." he said.

* * *

"Come on, get off." one of the soldiers said rushing them off the bus. The doors opened and the air was dry and hot, after hours trapped on an air conditioned bus it was a blessing to get off but a curse as they had no clue what they were walking into. But they followed orders or tried to. Olivia's car seats was stuck and just wouldn't come out. Luckily Ashley didn't mind holding Olivia freeing Rachel arms up to pull it out but she just didn't have the strength.

"It's stuck." she told the man.

"Unbelievable, get off. I'll get it unstuck." he told her, Rachel gave him a grateful smile as she picked up the diaper bag and stepped off the bus, it was night time, her watch had read about quarter past one in the morning. The kids were exhausted, the twins were positively feral and Frankie was grizzling just as badly as the twins at all the shuffling around. She joined Lena's side and took Olivia from her tired arms and looked at their new surroundings.

It looked like a trailer park but there were many different features as it had at least tall barbed wire fences spaced out, guard towers and flood lights that surrounded it. It was a prison camp and they were all being shuffled into the main area. A soldier appeared at her side and placed the baby car seat on the ground. He ran back outside the exterior fence which closed up it's gate. Soldiers stood armed and their faces covered, no ranks or names displayed on their black uniforms.

She strapped Olivia into the car seat giving up completely on calming her babies as it was all too much. She looked over to Maria who was Cruz's sister, she'd been picked up on the way with her two boys. She jiggled Frankie on her hip while Lena helped Rachel with the twins. Frankie who was red in the face, tears running down her face gave huffy breaths like she was trying to muster a wail but had run out of steam. Her tiny hands gripped Maria's shirt for dear life.

"This doesn't look good." Maria murmured, she was petite 5'6 woman with light tan skin and the most beautiful dark curly hair. She murmured for her sons to stay close, they were so well behaved as they did as they were told. Hell, all the kids were doing as they were told as they seemed to sense this was not the time or place to act out.

Maddy was holding Zoe's hand as Scout was walking beside them completely excited by the new surroundings. He was the only one looking excited though as Sammy and Ashley walked with her completely subdued.

"It'll be fine." Lena assured them, they were moved past the interior fence and the gates closed behind them. They continued walking until they were ushered to the front of a large building. There was a small stage where soldiers flanked the sides, the door to the building in front of them opened and a jovial looking man in his late fifties stepped out.

He wore a well tailored suit and his stark white hair immaculately slicked back with a bit of an Elvis quiff stepped up onto stage and looked over them with a smile of pride.

"Welcome to Utopia. My name is Wayne Drayton" he told him with a thick Texan accent. "This will be your home from now on, you are the lucky ones who have been selected to live a privileged lifestyle." he added. Rachel, Lena and Maria exchanged looks of disbelief as the man continued talking.

* * *

"You wanted to see us?" Wolf asked as he'd dragged Miller out of bunk. It hadn't been easy but he knew how Miller felt. Losing a parent wasn't easy and Miller's mother was everything to him. But he felt that Miller needed this and Sasha had asked for his help. Sasha turned from where she had been speaking to Kyoko and looked to them both with a warm smile.

"Kyoko has something to say to you both. She asked me to translate." Sasha told them, she got up from her chair and gestured for Miller to sit. The man looked so desolate as he reluctantly sat down. Sasha moved to the other side of the tiny room and Kyoko spoke to them in Japanese.

"Miller, she says that you saved her life, but more importantly, you saved her son. She knows it wasn't by choice and hopes one day you can forgive her but she is incredibly grateful for what you gave her." Sasha said translating for Kyoko.

"It's nothing. I forgive her, a Mom would do anything for their child. Just tell her I'm glad her son is alive." Miller told her in a reluctant and soft voice looking hurt and uncomfortable. He looked away trying to hide the pain and tears in his eyes. He cleared his throat and looked to Kyoko and Kaito who was sleeping peacefully in her arms. Sasha translated his words and Kyoko gave Miller a grateful smile and moved from the bed.

"Oh, no don't get up." Miller told her but Kyoko didn't listen as she moved to him.

"She'd be deeply honoured if you held her child." Sasha not translating as Kyoko hadn't spoken but because it was what the woman wanted. Miller reluctantly took the baby into his arms, cradling the baby in his arms. It was foreign to him as he had no concept of how small babies were until that moment. Tears burning his eyes as he knew Kyoko was dying which another boy would be without his mother. It didn't seem fair. Kaito gave tiny sigh as he curled his tiny body closer to Miller.

He felt part of his anger and grief melt away as he realised that without his blood this kid wouldn't even be alive and he was kind a cute even if he looked like a scrunched up old dude. He knew his Mom would be proud of him for being the better man and forgiving Kyoko and Takehaya, they were desperate people and he had to admit it made up for a lot of hurt that they saw him as an equal and were showing remorse for their actions.

"She says you're a natural." Sasha said as Kyoko had spoken again. Miller couldn't help but give a wry smile as no one had ever said he was a natural at anything.

* * *

"Here we are." Jed said as he pulled the car to a stop outside a log cabin. It was about three miles from his own but he knew that whoever had taken the others would definitely come up here to search for them. This cabin however had belonged to a friend who had died during the pandemic, so he knew it was empty. At least he hoped it was empty.

"Where are we?" Val asked with a sleepy voice.

"Somewhere with no phone reception. I'm so fired." Jacob muttered from the backseat of the car.

"It's a safe place." Jed told them, the two didn't looked convinced but then they hadn't liked the idea of Kara and Ravit splitting off from them. Jacob had wanted to go with them because it meant nabbing a story. Val didn't like the idea of being removed from electricity but the two would learn to live with the disappointments of camping out as it would save their lives.

"There's no electrical lines." Val said as she followed Jed who hopped out of the vehicle. He went to the house and pulled out the key that was kept under the doormat and opened the door.

"No power out here, like I said we need to be off the beaten track to regroup and figure out the next move. So yes, we won't be tracked here and you two seem to know the most. So put what you remember together and see if you can predict the next moves." Jed said, he found a kerosene lantern and lit room flooded with a soft warm glow.

"I don't-" Val started but Jed cut her off.

"You're both intelligent people. You got lucky with those soldiers but next time might not turn out that way. So you and the reporter will sort out the mess and compile the information so that when we make contact with the Nathan James they can be updated." Jed told them.

"My name is Jacob." Jacob said.

"Make me care by doing what's best for everyone and not for your ego." Jed told him.

* * *

" _St. Louis connected, Sir_." a voice said over the phone to Tom as he waited to speak with Howard Oliver, things had moved quickly in St Louis. According the news Michener had plead guilty to murder and resigned from his presidency. The man would have been safer keeping his mouth shut and hanging onto his presidency, there was no Senate to impeach him but obviously there were others people at work. Michener was a mentally pliable man.

"Captain Chandler." Howard Oliver's voice said over the line, the static chopping in and out. Tom made a mental note to ask what was holding comms up with sorting out the distortions with their comm links when TV was working just fine.

"Mr. President." Tom said.

"I am so very sorry. I know how close you and Jeffrey were. What happened was a shock to us all here." Oliver said.

"Yes, Sir." Tom said in agreement but keeping his tone even as he didn't want to say too much on the matter. Expecially given what happened left him with so many unanswered questions. One of them being how Michener could have possibly snapped and murdered a woman. He just didn't seem like that to Tom, hell Tom figured if Michener snapped he would have tried to finish what he'd started on the Nathan James and kill himself.

"I hope that over time, we can build a strong trust and confidence in one another and ride this scandal out." Oliver told him.

Yes, sir. I have a lot to catch you up on. We're currently approaching the pirate haven of Shanzhai, where we intend to find a smuggler who goes by the name of Wu Ming. We think he might be able to help fill in the blanks about why our people were taken, about ships painted with black circles, and what President Peng is planning in Asia. Sir, I intend to complete the mission that was given to me by President Michener... with your permission." Tom said as he knew he just steamrolled the man.

"You have my permission and my gratitude." Oliver told him, Tom felt his shoulders relax in relief.

"Thank you, Mr. President." Tom told him.

* * *

Kara and Ravit stood at the lookout where Justin had taken her on their first date. The sun was on it's way to start rising as the sky was lighting up, Kara could remember when Justin and she had hiked up here. She hadn't been impressed on the day as she'd dressed up for the date only to have them swing by her place to pick up boots. But the views up here had made up for a lot of her vanity and it had lead to a pretty spectacular first kiss.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Ravit asked, her eyes kept scanning their surroundings just as Kara did. They both knew this could be a trap but Kara trusted Justin, it might have a couple years since they broke up but he hadn't changed. He'd let them go and asked them here, it didn't make sense for it to be a trap when he could have called it at the house.

"Yes, he'd do anything for his child." Kara told her, it was something Kara was banking on. Justin might have a tight leash on him but Kara and Ravit were free to pursue where the families had been taken.

"Is that why you two broke up?" Ravit asked, Kara threw her a look as she couldn't believe Ravit was asking.

"Not entirely," Kara replied, it was that he cheated on her and impregnated another woman. Then he'd dumped her to stay with the other woman. Not that she was going to share that information as it wasn't relevant. They've moved on, Kara was happy with her life even if she didn't always feel that way. But Postpartum depression was just kicking her ass every now and then. She'd get out of her funk, it'd just take time. Luckily for now she was saved from Ravit trying to find out more as a branch snapped and the sound of footsteps came their way. They pulled out their side arms and held them ready, a few seconds later Justin stepped out of the foliage. His hands were raised in surrender.

"Just me." he told them, Kara lowered her weapon not entirely ready to stow it.

"Justin, do you know where they've been taken?" Kara asked him, saving time and cutting to what she wanted to know. Her house looked like it had been ransacked, Kate and Rachel's houses were the same. No signs of anyone

"No one does. Trust me if I knew then we wouldn't be having this conversation." Justin told her, happy to dispense with the small talk.

"What is happening?" Kara asked him, as she needed to have information sourced from the military and not Val as the woman tended to see things through tainted glasses.

"Don't know, all I know is that we had orders from Michener before he went psycho. We were tapped by his Chief of Staff for a black ops mission. It was signed off by Colonel Bradley, he stood with us in the debrief. It We have orders to capture Valerie Raymond as she is a Chinese Spy working with Jacob Barnes to stir up the media and create mass hysteria. Anyone with them are considered accessories to their crimes." Justin told her.

"She's not a spy." Kara told him.

"She's done it before when she was in allegiance with the Immunes. The New Orleans Fleet." Justin said vehemently. Kara gave a huff of resignation as what he said was true. Val's efforts during the pandemic to keep the world connected and in the 'know' had disastrous repercussions on the Nathan James' mission. But she had made up for her mistakes.

"That was different, it was a domino effect. She's an idiot for trusting the wrong people back then." Kara argued.

"Just like now with whoever is giving her intel." Justin countered, Kara felt the sting of his words as she could see his point. Val wanted to bust open a large conspiracy and use Jacob to tell the world, it could potentially destabilise the country and lead to a hellish scenario of civil war.

"If you don't trust me then what are we doing here?" Kara asked him.

"I'm over a barrel here. They have my daughter, if I don't follow orders then I'll never see her again. You're still free to do something!" Justin said frustrated.

"So do you, your orders are unconstitutional. Join us, we can find our families together." Kara told him, he gave a sardonic laugh and shook his head.

"Open your eyes Kara, the world is fucked. America is being split up into six regions, concrete walls are being put up as we speak to solidify those borders. How exactly are you and the Nathan James crew going to fix that?" he asked with a mix of resignation and uncertainty, she'd met the attitude before where other military personnel felt underappreciated for their efforts as the Nathan James took all the glory. It was like they felt demoralised by a victory which was all of theirs to share.

"If you're so resigned to the situation then why are you here talking to me?" She asked him.

"Maybe I want to be proven wrong." Justin told her.

"If I can find out where they are, would you join us?" Kara asked him. She knew his loyalties lay with whoever had his family but she needed to know when the time came and they needed the extra soldiers on the ground he'd be there.

"Every man and woman in uniform would but understand without our families there's nothing we can see worth saving. This isn't the country we swore an oath to. When the country officially breaks up, the oath doesn't apply anymore." Justin told her.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

* * *

"As you can see it's-"

"Utopia, it's not the first time you've told me this but last time I checked the definition of Utopia it didn't include high wire fences and guards. Let alone a minefield and ankle monitors or hundreds of surveillance cameras or a small army of private contractors." Kate said as she walked along with Wayne Drayton. After she had woken up with more energy she'd been given food, and ultrasound. The new pictures of that she carried in her hands as the doctor on staff gave her a clean bill of health and the baby was well within 'normal' parameters which she interpreted to mean 'fine'.

She'd been given an ankle monitor bracelet and informed she was being tracked 24/7 and that 'Utopia' frowned upon her gathering with other members who had similar monitors. She was also warned that between the two wire fences was a minefield so escape was looking pretty thin. But then it still wasn't daylight yet so she couldn't see too much other than the fences and guard stations that had flood lights. The place looked like a trailer park but prettied up with uniformed landscaping and street lamps that were a low brown lighting of the area.

"It does in the current world. You're safe here, you're given the best medical care, children will get an education-"

"And the Adults?" Kate asked as she didn't like how quiet the area was, it made her wonder what exactly they were doing here.

"Well you can enjoy some leisure time, there is a large plot of land that has been converted into a garden to grow food. Anyone with qualifications who wish to take an occupation similar to what they left will be able to with provisos." Wayne said, Kate could only imagine that those lucky people would be contained to non essential areas where they'd not learn anything useful.

"So are you looking for a helicopter pilot?" Kate asked mockingly.

"No, and we have no need for guards, soldiers or police as we've provided them for you all. Curfew is at 8pm where electricity will brown out while the batteries that charged through the day power our most essential areas of the camp."

"Are you telling me this on purpose?" Kate asked him.

"Yes, I know you're curious to where our soft spots are. Let me assure you, there are none and we're not interested in anything but caring for you all given your family members in the Military are looking after the country's best interests." Wayne told her.

"Hmm, what if they turn against the government?" Kate asked.

"They won't, they know what they will lose. Ah- here we are your home." Wayne said with a smile as he gestured to the trailer house before her with the number 3209 painted on the side. The exterior wasn't very welcoming, he moved to the side of the building and gestured for her to go.

"Wow, what luxury." Kate drawled drily as it was about 1/4 of the size of the home she had in St Louis. She didn't care about the size but the corrugated roof and possible lack of insulation in the dry heat they were enduring didn't make her think it would be a lovely place to reside. But there was no choice, she moved to the door and opened it, she looked to Wayne.

"It's Utopia, no crimes so no locks necessary." he told her as he turned on the light, it flickered and made low hum before it stabilised to a brown out state.

"Except on those gates you got somewhere to those large fences to truck in supplies and food." Kate replied as she stepped into the small space. It was a single wide trailer, right in front of her was a L-shape in built lounge to one corner, a coffee table, to her left there was an arm chair against the wall next to a desk that had baby paraphenalia of nappies, formula, bottles etc. The kitchen and tiny pantry already stocked, that took up half of the end of the trailer. Kate saw a door and assumed it was the bathroom.

"Sleeps four, there's a double bed upstairs and a crib for the baby, the lounge converts into two beds. The storage drawers leading up to the loft area has all the linen. Though with your height I suggest you watch your head getting into the loft." Wayne said as he pointed out the features of the small home. Kate admitted it was begrudingly cute, airy and light with it's french door and windows that let in the natural light. There was a fan that hovered over the lounge are but it was a large oasis palm leaf four blade fan. It was probably more for decorative means than functionality. But it was cooler inside than out, as thankfully the small trailer was insulated as the ceiling was covered in wooden floorboard panels.

"It's warm." Kate remarked.

"We get a cool change around 3pm, so don't worry about it."

"Where is my family?" She asked.

"They are currently being processed, they should arrive with in the next half an hour. I'll leave you to become acquainted with your home. If you have any further questions, my door is open." He said, Kate gave him a tight closed lip smile as she gave a nod. He smiled and stepped out the trailer leaving her.

Kate moved to the door and looked out when he was out of sight she moved around the space looking through all the drawers, taking stock of everything and looking in the loft and storage areas but also sweeping for bugs or some kind of surveillance. If she were honest she didn't have a clue what she was looking for. She just assumed if there was a camera she'd fine it.

When she found nothing she sat down on the storage drawers that were steps up to the loft that she could barely sit up in without bumping her head. She looked around at the space feeling a sense of despair wash through her. She didn't get much time to wallow when she heard a familiar bark and the sound of tiny paws skittering across the wooden floor. She got up from her perch and met Scout at the bottom step and smiled as she ruffled the fur behind his ears.

"Hello, Scout. How did you get here?" she asked him. The puppy answered by licking her hands and barking happily. She looked up as he heard the sounds of familiar voices outside and moved to the door.

"Kate!" Zoe exclaimed, she dropped her bag and ran to her. Kate crouched down and caught the little girl in her arms. "Where were you?" she demanded as she pulled back from the hug and gave Kate a sad face.

"I'm sorry they just took me away but I'm here. Are you ok?" Kate asked her, Zoe nodded not looking any happier but Kate couldn't fix that right away as she needed to make sure everyone else was ok. She rose to her feet and looked a tired looking Lena who was carrying a crying Frankie. "Let me." Kate said to Lena as she went for the heavy diaper bag only for Lena to give her Frankie.

"Thank you." Lena said as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. Kate looked to Frankie who was momentarily paused in her crying to look at Kate, Her bottom lip quivering and a few seconds later she let out another loud wail.

"Oh Frankie, poor bubba. It's ok." Kate said as she held the baby girl close, she ignored the crying as she looked to the others. "How are you all? What happened after they tranq-ed me?" Kate asked as she walked with them into the house, the girls dropped their bags on the floor. Scout raced around them all sniffing and getting acquainted with the new space.

"We were herded on a bus here, they just gave us all physicals. Rachel's around but they held her and the kids back for some reason. Frankie is just cranky as she's hungry, probably wet and they stuck us all with needles taking blood." Lena told her.

"What?" Kate said not liking the sound of the physicals. It made her wonder if Utopia was just a ruse for medical experimentation. She hoped not but then that despair of earlier washed through her as she had no control over the situation.

"I got boo boos." Zoe said showing the crook of her arm where a spot band aid sat on her skin.

"Well, once we get everything squared away I think we could have pancakes." Kate said as she moved to the makeshift change table and pulled Frankie out of Onesie that was indeed dirty thanks to a nappy leak. She quickly cleaned up Frankie and put her into a fresh nappy and found a small singlet that looked like Frankie's size. She pulled it onto the baby so she wouldn't overheat but also because Frankie would be getting a bath after they all had something to eat.

"Really? Pancakes?" Zoe asked excited at the idea of their once a fortnight indulgence being on offered. All sadness and anger momentarily forgotten.

"Looks like we can." Lena said as she was already in the kitchen assessing their inventory and checking the water and power situation. Kate looked over to Maddy who had been incredibly quiet the entire time. Kate made mental note to talk to her when they were more settled as everything was a mess.

* * *

Anna blew out a breath behind the face mask as she and Tex walked down the aisle of the hospital ward. Men and woman of varying ages laid in bed slowly and painfully dying of the virus. Anna was glad that Kat had been suffering from jet lag and decided to remain behind in the apartment they had been given. Anna herself wasn't feeling too great but knew that she had to put her best foot forward. She was just glad that she didn't have to take a drug test as she had pretty much swallowed a tablet of everything drug she'd brought with her just to keep upright.

"As you can see, the cure doesn't work. We however have learned that blood from people who received the cure does stave off the virus. So we've had the naturally immune and those who survived the initial outbreak to donate blood." The doctor said speaking in English for Tex.

"Yes, we had the same thoughts which is why we came with a blood bank. It's not much." Anna said as he was doing her best not to vomit. She'd seen a lot of messed up things but this was just off the scales. She'd thought the time she'd seen a soldier pushing a comrade's intestines back into his body was off.

"We're grateful, you said that Dr Scott said this was a bacteria that attached itself to the cure and envelops it impeding the cure from doing it's work?" he asked.

"Yes, when will I be able to speak with Dr Vellek?" Anna asked.

"He's very private with his research but he seemed surprised at Dr Scott's assessment." The doctor said.

"He understand that there's a ticking clock on this right?" Anna asked.

"Yes, but he told me that he runs to his own schedule and there is word that Vietnam is experiencing the same problem." The Doctor told them, Anna and Tex exchanged looks as they hadn't heard of this development.

"Does the US know?" Tex asked,

"The US doesn't care, if they did then they wouldn't have bypassed us when distributing the cure to take it to China to begin with." The doctor told them.

* * *

"We're 27 nautical miles southeast of Shanzhai port, Sir." Gator said to Mike as he stood on the bridge waiting for Jesse to report in the state of Shanzai and if they were clear to send in a team. Mike had to admit that his heart wasn't in it. In fact he felt incredibly burned by Christina, he couldn't see why she'd turn into a hooker when she had his pay or why she'd abandon their kids to consort with Michener.

Ok, he knew, it was about power. Christina liked being at the top of the pile but still, it made him wonder who the hell he'd been married to, how a sweet waitress from Chicago who had big dreams for herself ended up as she had. He wondered if it was his fault but pushed that from his head as he was as advertised, she knew who and what he was when they were together. Even so it still burned him because he watched more of the news from America and learned a lot he didn't know about Christina. It boiled him to know he'd been doing his job while everything went to shit back home. He'd been deprived of being able to know and try to fix things.

"Vulture team is standing by for Captain Chandler. Ready for infil as soon as Nomad has eyes on target." Andrea said from X.O.'s chair. Mike missed those days of sitting in that chair. Things seemed a lot easier and clear cut in that chair than it did from his position now.

" _Nathan James, this is Nomad. Going feet dry six clicks from Shanzai_." Jesse said over comms.

"CNO on the bridge." Granderson called from her post. Mike looked back at his friend wishing he didn't feel so betrayed by the man professionally and personally in that moment. He'd been ready to let it go when they'd gotten back to ship but now he just wanted to punch the man in face and toss him overboard. But he wouldn't because part of him knew he could get past this and the only way he could see getting there was by seeing Kate and the girls. He knew he could talk to Kate and hash things out she'd help him find clarity and peace to move forward.

"You get the go from POTUS?" Mike asked Tom as the man came to him.

"He understands the importance of what we're doing here but has requested proof-of-life videos. It's a morale boost for back home." Tom told him. Mike quirked an eyebrow of exhausted patience. He felt like telling Tom that he and those who returned from Takehaya's camp deserved their privacy and not to become a puff piece for the country.

"Land team's waiting for you." Mike told him, not even bothering to tell Tom that he should stay on the ship given he was the highest ranking military officer but it was a waste of breath. Tom did whatever the hell he wanted and damned the rest of them to pick up the pieces.

" _Nathan James, this is Nomad. Flag on the play. Shanzai's a bust. Place is a fire pit_." Jesse told them, Mike picked up the radio receiver from the console closest to him.

"The whole town?" Mike asked, not surprised at all given how shockingly bad their luck was.

" _Wiped out. Nothing but ashes. Nomad returning to ship_." Jesse replied, Mike hung up the receiver and looked to Tom.

"We need to get back in a room with Takehaya and Sasha." Tom told him.

* * *

Rachel was starving by the time she, Ashley, Sammy and the twins made close to the numbers of where their new home would be. The sun was just starting to show itself and Rachel despised it for being bright. They like what seemed to be over thirty families had been processed into the camp. It seemed like more people were being brought by the hour.

"Hey, let me carry that bag for you." Maria told Rachel as she and her boys caught up to her. Rachel gave a sigh of relief as the unwanted weight of a heavy diaper bag lifted off her aching shoulder.

"Thank you." Rachel said appreciating Maria's presence. She just didn't have enough energy or hands to handle it all.

"No problem," Maria turned to her boys "You guys ok?" she asked them.

"Tired Mommy," one of them grouched, Rachel was pretty sure was Christopher as he was two years older than Manny. Either way they were dragging their feet just as Ashley and Sammy were. It had been a long night with very little sleep.

"So what house are you in?" Rachel asked as she glanced as Ashley who was carrying Evie in her car seat. It made her feel horrible as Ashley's arms had to be killing her just as Rachel's were with Olivia's car seat.

"Trailer 3210, you?" Maria asked her.

"3208." Rachel said wishing they were there already as she really wanted to sit down.

"Hey, we'll be close. It'll be nice to know everyone in the neighbourhood." Maria said, Rachel looked at the woman who was in her late twenties like she was alien with two heads.

"You're very positive about this," Rachel said as she couldn't see the silver lining of what was happening. They were prisoners in a prettied up camp to keep them complacent.

"I try to make the best outta what I got, and we've all walked through fire to get this far. I think the kids have been through enough. So yeah, this sucks but at least there's still a roof over our heads, food to be had and the kids will be schooled" She gave a shrug, "I can't see the downside except that we're stuck here but that's not permanent. My brother is too annoying to leave me alone for too long. So this is just hopefully a brief respite from the world. You know?" Maria half joked but geniunely pragmatic about it.

"I understand what you're saying." Rachel said as it made sense. Their lives hadn't been threatened but it was implicit that escaping wasn't an option and Rachel was in no place to escape. Much as she hated it, it was easier and safer for her to wait this out with kids. She knew Tom would prefer her to do that, but even so it did ride her ego to have to sit and wait. She just hoped that Jed was ok wherever he was and that he, Kara and Ravit had somehow reunited and were safe. She also hoped they were searching for them.

"Plus, I couldn't get Manny and Christoper out of here without tripping alarms and I was informed there is a minefield. So yeah, I'm staying here until my big brother does his Hero bit." Maria said with a mocking grin.

* * *

"Peng levelled Shanzai. Charred the place to tie up loose ends. We assume Wu Ming's dead, but we still need to figure out how he tracked all those ships, especially the ones he wanted you to stay away from. Any idea if he might've had a backup outside Shanzai?" Tom asked Takehaya. He, Takehaya, Mike and Sasha stood around the wardroom table looking at a map of Asia and the surrounding seas.

Takehaya didn't look surprised at news, in fact he looked bored. "What makes you think it was Peng?" Takehaya asked him, Mike who had been leaning against the wall looked to Tom, the man looked ready lose it but kept his cool. One thing Tom didn't like was being questioned. Sasha who stood next Tom looked distinctly uncomfortable. It made him wonder why she was giving up any information Wu Ming when she was supposed to be in the 'know' of this region.

"Because the man has been covering something up since I've come to this region and I believe the ships you were told to avoid can be linked back to him." Tom told him, not appreciating Takehaya not giving him the answer he wanted when it was clear he knew.

"What purpose does tracking down these ships have. You denounce Peng as a smuggler?" Takehaya asked sceptical as to why he was here and why Tom was drawing such wild connections.

"We believe that the mutation in Japan is the result of a biological weapon. I believe Peng is smuggling the weapons on those ships." Tom told, Takehaya sat up at that nugget of information.

"Your wife in her delirium spoke about a green mist and my friend saw Peng's soldiers transporting missiles through Guangzhou." Sasha added, which piqued his interest, he mulled on their words for a moment before he spoke. Takehaya looked to Sasha and spoke in Mandarin, Mike watched as Sasha frowned and folded her arms.

"It's a Chinese proverb." Sasha told Mike and Tom.

"Wu Ming taught me this when I asked why he never pirated the ships himself. It means 'When children travel far from home, mothers never stop worrying'." Takehaya said looking to Tom and then Mike.

"So he was a mama's boy. Mm." Mike said to Takehaya, not really interested in Chinese proverbs but in getting home but Tom's suspicions of biological weapons had to be chased even if it did seem a little too insane to believe.

"He supported her... his sister, the grandmother-" Takehaya said until Tom cut him off.

"And you think he may have stashed Intel with them." Tom said, Takehaya gave a nod not appreciating the interruption to what he was saying.

"That way, they could carry on the business. He could provide for them, even in death." Takehaya said as he looked down at the map.

"It's the only good thing I ever heard about him. Took care of his family." Sasha said backing up Takehaya's information to Mike and Tom.

"And where exactly might we find Mama Ming?" Mike asked, Takehaya looked at the map for a long moment before he tapped the location on the map.

* * *

"Coffee." Kara asked Samantha who was dressed in a t-shirt and boy shorts with a sig sauer in hand aimed at Kara. She had heard a noise and came to investigate to find the curtains in her house drawn and Kara in the kitchen helping herself to Samantha's coffee.

"Why did you break in?" Samantha asked as she lowered her weapon and moved to her kitchen table and sat down. She didn't bother to ask the damage to her place as she'd figure it out later.

"They've taken my child and all the families of the Nathan James crew. It's not just our families but those of active military members from other branches." Kara said as she placed a cup of coffee in front of Samantha.

"What?" Samantha demanded as this was the first she'd heard of it and also she was wondering if maybe she was still asleep as this sounded like nightmare territory.

"There's a coup in progress and whoever is coming into power will control our military by keeping their families hostage. It's started." Kara told her.

"I know nothing about it." Samantha said with a tired sigh as she was tired of everything falling to shit because people were greedy.

"I know, if you had you would have just shot me." Kara said with a tight smile.

"That's quite a risk you took with your life." Samantha told her.

"I trust you, I also need your help. There's a mole in the White House working for this 'group'." Kara said as she didn't what to call it.

"It's the regional leaders. I'd peg either Allison or Alex as the mole. They have access to everything in that office even though they shouldn't." Samantha said as if it were a foregone conclusion.

"You know for sure about the regional leaders?" Kara asked her, Samantha shook her head.

"Guessing, can't round up that many families and hold them quietly in one state. That and everyone's families are spaced all over the place. It'd take a lot of manpower and space to put them altogether in one place and illogical." Samantha said before she took a sip of her coffee.

"How are we going to find them?"Kara asked her.

"I'll look into military records, if they are using our personnel then there will be a paper trail for our troops movements on US soil. It's a place to start at least. How did you miss being picked up?" Samantha asked her.

"Wasn't home at the time." Kara said with a shrug.

* * *

"I got Frankie." Kate assured Lena who looked dead on her feet but was persisting in staying awake even though Zoe and Maddy were conked out. Zoe was up in the loft while Maddy was on half of the lounge.

"She's a slippery one when naked." Lena told her, Kate looked to Frankie who she was supporting the neck and head in the kitchen sink. The baby girl was just blitz from the luxury of the warm water of the bath. It was a blessing that Frankie hadn't reacted to the formula.

"I got it. Don't I Frankie?" Kate asked Frankie, the baby girl gave a blink and yawned before closing her eyes. Kate looked to Lena "See happy baby, now Happy Nanna only comes from sleeping." she added in a mockingly condescending manner to Lena, the older woman glowered at her that unnervingly reminded Kate of Mike. It made sense that he learned it from somewhere.

"Ok, I'll leave you to it." Lena said letting Kate go ahead. She was exhausted but she was worried for them all, right now for Kate as she was sporting some mean bruises where the tranq darts hit her.

"The weird nest basket in downstairs right?"

"Yes and Scout will need a walk. He other than you seems to be the only one in this place unaffected by what's going on." Lena told her as Kate lifted Frankie out of the sink and onto a towel that she'd placed to dry Frankie.

"I'm affected by this, I just can't deal with it right now." Kate told her as she gently dried Frankie and got her into a fresh nappy without Frankie acting too perturbed by it all. She just fell asleep as Kate got her into a plain cotton singlet, Kate didn't see the point in more clothing given how warm it was. But she did swaddle Frankie up into muslin wrap to comfort her. She lifted Franking into her arms enjoying the comforting weight of the baby in her arms. She also liked how seeing Frankie's serene face just helped her own anxieties fade away as she had a purpose.

She couldn't escape but right now she just had to take care of everyone in this house and herself. It was enough to leave the rest to Mike as she was just trapped. Something she found hard to deal with at times, in fact it made her feel a little panicked. But she tamped down on it. Lena must have seen her expression as she rested a hand on her arm and gave her a soft smile.

"We'll get through this." Lena assured.

"I know, but it would be even better if you got some sleep." Kate said with a kind smile. Lena gave a nod and climbed up the stairs to join Zoe. Kate carried Frankie over to the baby bed and gently laid her down. Scout stuck his nose through one of the holes in the side of the basket and started sniffing around. "Get out of it." she whispered as she gently shooed at his face, the pup moved away and came to her side for some attention.

"Kate?" Maddy asked in a sleepy tone.

"Yeah, everything is ok." Kate assured her, she sat on the coffee table and smiled at Maddy.

"No it's not." Maddy told her, her face was filled with sadness, tears brimming in her eyes. "Mom is dead and it's my fault." she whispered.

"Oh Maddy-" Kate started but Maddy sat up and cut her off.

"I wished she'd just die and go away and she did.I saw it on my iPad." Maddy told her, tears streaming down her face.

"I really have to learn the parental controls on that thing." Kate murmured as she moved to sit beside her. Scout tried to get up on the lounge but Kate gave him a look which made him park his but on the floor and wag his tail. Kate wrapped her arms around Maddy. The girl crumpled into her side sobbing. "Maddy, you had no control over your mother and what happened to her. It wasn't your fault." Kate told her.

"She was so horrible to me." Maddy said as if she had to explain herself as she obviously didn't believe Kate when she said it wasn't her fault.

"I know, some people no matter how much they love a person struggle showing it. I think the loss of your brother and the pandemic- it affected her very deeply and she did a lot of not so very nice things to cope. That has nothing to do with you or Zoe, I know deep down she loved you both very much and all the happy memories you have of her. I think that's what you should hold onto." Kate said to Maddy as she gently stroked Maddy's hair in a soothing manner.

"I wanted her gone. I wanted to live with you, Daddy and Nanna, everything was better when she wasn't there." Maddy said, Kate gently lifted Maddy's face up and looked at her. Kate really wanted to agree with her but knew this was the wrong time to get into that conversation.

"Maddy, I want you to think carefully. Did you want her gone because of how she came back? Or did you wish she'd come back and fit into our world instead of how things turned out?" Kate asked her.

"I don't know." Maddy said but her expression said it all, she had wanted some version of the latter. Probably one where her mother and father reunited and stayed together than how everything panned out.

"I think you do, and it's ok to be sad that your Mum is gone. To miss her." Kate told her, feeling it necessary to tell Maddy it was ok to grieve and be angry but not to put the blame on herself.

"When are you going to tell Zoe?" Maddy asked her as she dropped her head down again and leaned heavily into Kate's side.

"After she's had some sleep. I'm so sorry Maddy, I wish things had turned out so differently for us all." Kate told her as she hugged the girl close to her side, they sat silently in their own thoughts until Maddy fell asleep.

* * *

"What do you have on the Nathan James?" Oliver asked Samantha a couple hours later, she had fixed the lock Kara had broken and managed to find nothing about the movement of the families. She had called every family member listed for a service member on the Nathan James to find that 200 so people weren't picking up their phones or mobiles. Kara was telling the truth and now Samantha was on the hunt.

"Sir with respect, we should be having this meeting privately." Samantha said as she looked at Alex and Allison pointedly. Oliver looked to them and back at Samantha with an obtuse look as if he didn't understand. "S.O.P. is that military information on such proceedings should be kept in a small circle." she added wishing he'd pick up the hint but also watching him closely to see if he was a pawn, a player or just stupid.

"I trust them and I will need their help later down the line in case this mission doesn't work out." Oliver said, Samantha smothered a sigh as the man either didn't understand his job or chose not to. But they were wasting time, so she went on with the presentation. She crossed 'Stupid' off her list.

"Nathan James will loiter over the horizon while a VBSS team commandeers a vehicle near the Beng Mu Chun inlet" she pointed to the map she had on the board behind her "and then heads inland to Yunma to find Wu Ming's family. Just awaiting your approval, Sir." She prompted as she seemed to lose Oliver at some point. Hi attention drifted off and at her sharp 'Sir' he snapped out of it with a shaky nod.

"Yes." He said in a manner of uncertainty. It wasn't comforting to have POTUS so distracted but Samantha got the approval they needed. She gave a nod and moved to leave when Oliver called her name. "Colonel Nash... how are we doing on those proof-of-life videos from the rescued hostages?" he asked.

"The Nathan James crew is working on them, Sir, but we are having some difficulty with the visual signal on our end. I can get the audio recordings for you right away." Samantha said, she couldn't see the point in the videos as the people who truly needed to see them were dead or taken in the night to whereabouts unknown.

"Audio isn't good enough. We need to see faces. The American people need to see that we had a win. Sort out that technical glitch A.S.A.P." Oliver told her.

"Yes, Sir." Samantha said with a nod, she had no plans to demand for the videos as they were irrelevant. But she'd play her part and watch her back as she had no family, thus she couldn't be controlled. So it begged the question of what leverage they'd use on her.

* * *

"What the hell?" Jed demanded, he'd gone to bed for a few hours sleep when he came out he found one of the cabin walls plastered with post it notes and knitting yarn. Jacob and Val were sitting at the dining table that face said wall, Jacob was looking bleary eyed while Val had her head on the table asleep. Not so much anymore as her head snapped up.

"Huh?" she asked, a post it note was stuck to her face as she looked around like she'd woken up in a nightmare. She looked to Jacob and her lips curled in disgust. "You're still here?" she sneered at him.

"I prefer to stay alive." He said as he yanked the post it note off her face. She grimaced at him as she snatched it back from him.

"Have you figured out where the families are?" Jed asked them before the two starting bickering like small children.

"Not yet." Jacob said.

"FEMA camps." Val said at the same time.

"They are an urban legend. Jed, you're military do the US have secret FEMA camps?" Jacob asked Jed.

"We had concentration camps during WW2 for the Japanese families." Jed said diplomatically as he really didn't want to get in-between the two of them. He also couldn't reveal anything pertaining to his Army days as it was all top secret and he was bound by confidentiality agreements to keep his mouth shut.

"Please, before the pandemic there were over 800 operational concentration camps. They are probably being used now which is why we can't figure out where they are. It'd make sense given they have the facilities and staff on hand." Val said looking incredibly vindicated in her point of view which hadn't been Jed's intention.

"That is BS, no way would these facilities go unnoticed." Jacob told her drily.

"People are blind to the world around them. Plus it's probably funded by the government's black budget. Also America is huge so yeah these places would be missed. Of course if someone came across a site, they'd probably be disappeared very quickly. Don't you think?" Val argued.

"I'm going to be outside." Jed leaving them to argue as he'd have his coffee outside and hopefully enjoy a little bit of nature than their bickering.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

* * *

Kara stared out the window, tears silently rolled down her face as her heart was broken, her stomach twisted in fear of never seeing her baby girl. She was a terrible mother, she'd left her child with friends to pursue Val. It made her wonder what was wrong with her, every little decision was now being reviewed and deemed terrible. She should've stayed at home and looked after Frankie, she was her mother, it was her job to love and protect her baby. Her only job and she'd failed on half of her duties which made her feel like she was no better than her own mother.

"Kara, whatever you're thinking stop it." Ravit told her as she kept her eyes on the road as she was driving but she could see the anguish Kara was in. She had no idea what it was like to lose a child but she could see it tearing Kara to pieces.

"My daughter was taken from me because I wasn't there." Kara told her in a dull voice.

"We'll find them and you'll have Frankie back in your arms in no time." Ravit said as she took a left getting onto the highway to meet up at the cabin Jed had told them about.

"I still failed." Kara murmured dejectedly.

"You'll do better next time, so stop tearing yourself down. I need you by my side." Ravit told her.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Kara said, as she knew Ravit was right. She needed to pull herself out of this funk as a Sailor didn't mourn it's losses until after the war was over. Right now they were at war, she needed to be on her A-Game.

* * *

"I need to speak with you." Samantha told Dennis as he caught him in the courtyard having a smoke. She had to admit he liked how he jumped at her appearance and looked a little scared. It gave her a tiny thrill to have that kind of power and strength over people. She made a mental note to get a hobby as she obviously too bored to getting amusement out of power plays.

"If it's about the noisy channel and what the words mean, I'm still at a loss." Dennis told her as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

"It's not that," she said, she scanned the area and found no one close by so felt safe enough to say what she needed to. "I've been trying to contact the families of the Nathan James, they've all disappeared." she told him, he genuinely looked surprised which was reassuring.

"Seriously? You dialled every number?" Dennis asked her.

"Yes, it's only 200 calls and I had a couple hours to kill." She told him drily as she wondered how he'd think it was a monumental task.

"Ok." he said obviously not sure what to say.

"I want to know where they went." she told him, she didn't want to use her military contacts yet or speak with Major Damon given that she preferred to find out what she could before she tested his loyalty. She knew she could trust Dennis as the kid was too naive to be part of coup. He was also a terrible liar.

"How would I know?" Dennis asked her.

"You have friends who tend to stick their noses where they shouldn't. Contact them, I also think the military is involved but they are being contracted by a civilian agency. So it's off the books, but there has to be an electronic trail of it as all soldiers, Marines and sailors are tracked." She told him.

"Tracked how? and if it's off the book how can it be tracked?" he asked confused as he wasn't savvy on how the military operated.

"The mission wouldn't be specified but we're logged wherever we go via what our post is and our duties. I want to know who's been shuffled around in the last six days. Think you can do it?" she asked him.

"Can't you do it?" He asked.

"Not without raising a few red flags." She begrudgingly admitted.

"I can try." Dennis offered and it was better than nothing.

"It's all I ask and try to keep your head low." She told him before leaving him to finish his cigarette.

* * *

"Vulture team has reached Yunma." Andrea told Mike as they stood on the bridge of the Nathan James. Tom and Vulture team with Sasha left the ship over two hours ago and were finally checking in.

"ETA to target?" Mike asked her.

"Less than five minutes, Sir." Andrea replied, Mike gave a curt nod knowing it would be a long night.

* * *

"Scout, you're lucky you're adorable as I swear you're trying my patience." Kate told the puppy she was taking for a walk. He was on his leash but was zig zagging all over the place in an excited manner. His tail wagging excitedly as he stopped to sniff a small rock. She was being dragged a long for the ride. Sure she could stop and direct him or at least pull on his leash but she was too soft to do that at the moment.

"Kate?" A familiar voice called, Kate turned to her left and couldn't believer her eyes.

"Mrs Miller?" Kate asked in disbelief, the woman was supposed to be dead.

"Barbara." Mrs Miller corrected, it was an ongoing battle that the older woman as Kate just couldn't call her by her first name. It just felt weird for her so she ignored the prompt to call her by her first name. Instead she was stuck in how the woman was alive given Samantha told her that Barbara had died.

"How? I was told you died in a fire when the riots-" Kate started but Barbara cut her off.

"More like I was kidnapped from my bed in the middle of the night and brought to 'Utopia' though how anyone can call this sauna paradise..." She blew out breath and shook her head. Kate had to agree as it was barely 8am and already felt like a hot day.

"It's good to see you alive." Kate said to her, in fact Kate was relieved. She hated the idea of Miller losing his mother as he was such a kindhearted gentleman. Something rare for his age.

"You too, though you could use some meat on your bones." Barbara commented in a motherly fashion.

"It's a work in progress." Kate replied with a smile.

"Uhuh and who's your friend?" Barbara asked, she gave a tiny whistle that caught Scout's attention. The puppy raced over to her and sat down, his tail thumped the ground as he shook with excitement of having a new friend to play with.

"Scout, lover of everything." Kate said, Mrs Miller chuckled as she tried to scratch Scout behind the ear only to have the dog roll onto his belly. He was such a pushover.

"He's a adorable." Mrs Miller said as she gave Scout a good rub down.

"Yes, he is. So who else is here?" Kate asked her, needing to know what they doing here. Mrs Miller rose to her feet and looked around for a moment before replying.

"Anyone connected to the Military. Debbie Foster is here, she's dry given alcohol isn't allowed." Mrs Miller said, Kate's eyebrows rose at that tidbit of information because if Debbie was here there were potentially many other families of Nathan James' crew.

"How is she?" Kate asked given she'd met Debbie and the woman hadn't been sober at the time or the other times they crossed paths. She did however feel for Kara because it was just a rough ride to have an alcoholic parent.

"Right pain in the ass for a neighbour. There are a few other families of Nathan James crew. Majority are Army and Marin families, we have a grow garden for vegetables and some fruits. It's segregated by Military branches." Mrs Miller told her.

"Lovely." Kate remarked drily.

"Oh yes, you'd think there would be unity given the circumstances but the other families resent the Navy and the families of the Nathan James as it's all their and our fault we're here." Mrs Miller said with a roll of her eyes.

"Because we're being held hostage." Kate stated, the older woman nodded.

"You got it chickadee. Not that our self elected Mayor, Mr Drayton tells us anything but we all seem to know the score." Mrs Miller said with a shrug as there was no illusions to what was happening.

"Great, has anyone tried to escape?" Kate asked her. Mrs Miller gave her an incredulous look.

"These are normal folk, they aren't like you or wearing your jewellery." she said gesturing to Kate's ankle monitor.

"Sheep." Kate remarked drily, she didn't know why but she was hoping there would be more like her in the crowd.

"Normal people who have family to protect and care for. You got any plans on escaping?" Mrs Miller asked her.

"There's a minefield and a lot of ground to run with no cover and full visibility of the guard stations. I wouldn't get far, so it's not happening." Kate begrudgingly admitted, she shook her head. She was tempted but if she were honest she wasn't in shape and if she was going to escape she wanted to take everyone with her which was impossible.

* * *

They drove into side alley and Wolf cut the engine. They didn't say a word as they went on foot the rest of the way, they rounded a corner and the team split up to breach the building Wu Ming's family were supposed to be dwelling in. Chickens squawked as they walked around the streets loose and a dog barked in distance.

Tom, Sasha and Danny stopped as they reached their position, they took cover behind a trash heap. The dark giving them decent coverage as the street lights were in brownout mode.

"That's MSS." Tom said in a low voice as there was a truck parked out the front of the building with markings of Chinese Army. A far as Tom understood it, the MSS had adopted the military's inventory. How so many of them survived the virus was astounding given how very little of the PLA survived.

"I guess Peng wants to talk to Mama Ming, too." Danny remarked in a low voice, Tom tapped on his shoulder motioning for him to move as they needed to get a better idea of what was going on.

* * *

Anna dialled the number for the third time and waited. The phone rang out until it hit the answering machine. She inwardly frowned as it wasn't good to show her concern in a room with government bodies.

"No answer?" Asabe the right hand man to the Health minister asked.

"No." Anna replied honestly as she hung up the phone. She had to admit it didn't it well as Kate was supposed to be waiting for her call. She'd also tried to call Rachel and got no answer either. It was weird given that Rachel was a total hermit with the twins. Hell, if Anna had twin babies she'd be a hermit too, but it didn't explain why she hadn't picked up the phone. It was barely 9am in St Louis. Everyone should be awake.

"The Americans have cut us off completely." Asabe said, Anna couldn't help but despise the xenophobic tendencies in the man. There were annoying given he was friendly and respectful but there were moments when she could tell he saw her as a piece of gum on his shoe. He wasn't the only one and she knew why. It was that she was born in Australia and served in the Australian Military. She was the epitome of unladylike manners as she wasn't submissive or soft spoken or any other trait Japanese culture saw as 'attractive' qualities for women.

"Of course they have." A man said as he came into the room, Anna looked up surprised as the man spoke Japanese fluently without hint of an accent. He was 6ft tall, balding man in his late sixies. He wore a lab coat over a plain white shirt and navy blue slacks.

"You must be Dr Vellek." Anna said not bothering to switch to English.

"Yes, you are Anna Hatake from what remains of Lassiter Industries." He said as he moved to her, he held out his hand instead of the traditional forum of bowing.

"Pleasure to meet you." Anna said as she shook his hand. He gave her a small smile as he looked at her with purpose. There was a glint in his eyes that made her think he wasn't here out of the kindness of his heart and that something about her caught his interest.

"You too. I was hoping to ask for access to your offices here in Tokyo." He said cutting to the point of his presence in the room.

"You know I'm not allowed to open them without the authorization codes. Codes only my partner Kathryn Lassiter knows." Anna told him, not put off as she knew why he'd want access to the labs that were in the Satellite offices in the city.

"Ah, and she's not answering the phone." Vellek pointed out.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. It's 9am in her time zone, she has two kids to get to school. So tell me what can you share on your research." Anna asked.

"This is definitely a biological weapon." Vellek said, Anna wore a passive expression as she could see Vellek was being inflammatory to observe their reactions.

"What?" Asabe demanded.

"The bacteria you've found in your soil and water are genetically engineered." Vellek told them.

"Something we already know, the U.S. Military are investigating it as we speak." Anna lied as she had no clue what the U.S. Military was doing but felt it would easily explain why the Nathan James was roaming around the South China Seas. "Do you have a solution?" she asked.

"Possibly, I believe that the gene therapy you and many other in Lassiter Industries had been given will help those suffering." Vellek said.

"How?" Asabe asked as he'd have to go back to his boss and pass it up to the government. Anna couldn't help but be suspicious of Vellek to have a solution already.

"The patients in your wards aren't dying from the virus. They are dying from kidney failure and liver as their bodies can't clean the bacteria from their systems." Vellek said, he looked at Anna as if she were the one who needed to be convinced. "The gene therapy made the patient's immune system stronger among other health benefits. If I can get my hands on that research then perhaps we can produce a serum that would boost the patient's immune system and using a synthetic copy of Ms Hatake's plasma will help their body fight the infection. If they survive that much and the virus they will become naturally immune like Ms Hatake and myself."

"Why can't we access the building?" Asabe demanded.

"It was put into lock down which is to protect the company's interests and not have it's research or products fall into their competitor's hands." Anna explained, but she looked to Vellek and knew there was something off about him. "You're hinging a lot on some off chance that research is here." she added to Vellek.

"I used to work for Lassiter Industries. I know it's here." Vellek told her.

* * *

"Well... he's still alive." Tom remarked to Danny as they were on one of the rooftops of a building running parallel to Wu Mings. They were congregated on the top floor of a two level building. He counted three MSS Agents in the room. One was pointing a gun at the women while the other two were laying into Wu Ming. He passed the binoculars back to Danny. He moved away from Danny and moved to get into his position as they'd counted three guards on the ground.

Wolf had already taken one out quietly before he stood by at one of the entrances to the building. He like the others were just waiting for orders to go in.

"All teams SITREP, over." Tom said into his radio.

" _Cooper, set._ " Sasha replied.

" _Green, set_." Danny said.

" _Taylor, go for entry._ " Wolf replied.

" _Burk's got eyes on upper target._ " Burk replied, Tom set up his position and saw the soldier aimlessly patrolling his area.

"I got the shot on the lower. Burk, go." Tom ordered, he shot his rifle twice as Burk did the same with his. Bodies dropped the ground but no alarm sounded which was good. Tom moved from his position and met Burk at another entry point into the building. They quietly moved up the stairs to the open door, but stopped waiting for Wolf.

" _Taylor, set._ " he replied.

"Primary entry team set. All teams, on my count. Three, two, one... execute." Tom ordered, he gripped his gun as he heard the sound of bullets being fired and the screaming of women. He and Burk moved into the building with Tom at the rear. They slowly and methodically cleared each room on the bottom floor of the building. Killing any MSS soldiers that came their way. Tom could hear Wolf and another MSS soldier fighting upstairs but couldn't help as they hadn't cleared the floor yet. Once Burk called an all clear on his end, Tom headed up the stairs. When he got there, the fight was over; Lau Hu laid on the floor dead and Wolf sat beside him catching his breath. Wolf looked up at him and gave a nod, Tom lowered his weapon; he pulled at his shoulder radio.

"All clear, I need you over here Cooper." Tom ordered.

" _On my way_." She replied.

* * *

Michener couldn't believe this was his life, he hadn't even been given a trial but they'd thrown him into prison. They'd stripped him of all his belongings, his dignity with a body search that was more intimate than his last airport pat down. They made him shower and change into prison clothing before one of the guards escorting him to his new cell. The block was empty as apparently the other prisoners were getting 'air' time.

He gave a slow exhale as he'd never been more afraid in his life than he was right now. He wasn't a strong man, he'd never been in a fight and all the prison TV shows he'd seen made him painfully aware that he wouldn't thrive here. He moved into the small room, unsure of where he should put his stuff.

"Well, look what we have here." Michener turned to find a 6ft7 olive skin man with shoulder length dreads, tattoos and muscles. He had trouble written all over him, he smiled in a wolfish manner that made Michener incredibly uncomfortable.

"The President." His friend said, he was 5ft 9 slim man with dirty blond hair said with a mock salute.

"Actually, I resigned. The country need a stronger leader." Michener said, he couldn't believe he had spoken.

"We aren't the media." the tall one growled darkly.

"I-ah-" Michener started.

"Stuttering, your roomie is going to wet himself, Hunter. You watch Prison break?" The blond one asked Michener.

"Yes." Michener said as he looked to Hunter, the big guy who was his roommate.

"Well, it's worse than that in here." The blond one told him, Michener paled at that information and the man laughed at him.

"Gunner, give him a break." Hunter told the blond one, he pushed into the room "Relax, Michener. I'm into women. You're taking top bunk and if you wet the bed in the night I will break you." he warned him.

"I'm not supposed to be here." Michener said.

"Gunner deserves to be here but me? I'm not supposed to be here. You however killed thousands of people by breaking quarantine, stole Lassiter's liver, then killed her lover's wife. Not to mention you screwed up America instead of letting that Red hottie and her Asian counterpart make it better. Now if they ran for presidency, I'd actually register to vote for that." Hunter told him with a smile as he reclined onto the bottom bunk looking at home.

"Excuse me?" Michener asked in disbelief, he hugged his spare clothing and bedding to his chest as he kept his back to the wall.

"You're not excused. They were doing good work and all you had to do was follow their lead. But no, got to be an asshole about it because you didn't think of it first. For a guy who had two daughters, you'd think you would be more progressive in your thinking." Gunner told Michener.

"I am. I believe in women's rights and equality for all." Michener said.

"Yeah, you stealing a woman's liver really proves that score." Gunner said sarcastically with a chuckle.

"I didn't know it was stolen, they lied to me." Michener said, he didn't know why he was defending himself when he knew he deserved to be in prison. He had broken laws, killed his children. Maybe he could justify it as being a mercy killing but it was still murder. But he was innocent of Christina's death. He'd been framed but it didn't matter because given Gunner and Hunter knew about the thousands he'd killed, it meant the media had dug up his past.

"I'm really amazed she didn't rip that liver out of you. I know I would have." Gunner said, Michener had to wonder what the man was in for as he would have assumed something non violent until now. Now, he was sure that Hunter was safer than Gunner as he looked at Michener as though he was sizing up his skin to wear it as a suit.

"She showed me mercy." Michener offered weakly.

"More like weakness, but hey what she went through would mess anyone up. Is she completely off her rocker? The hot ones always are, she's gotta be nuts right?" Gunner asked, Michener pressed his lips into a fine line. Not sure how to answer as it was obvious he was stuck with Kate and Anna's fan club. But then he realised maybe he could use it to his advantage.

"She's a survivor, one that I admire greatly. The only reason I'm here is that my advisers manipulated me. I thought they were on my side but it turns out I was wrong given I'm here." Michener said, the words flowed and realised how true they were. He'd trusted Allison and Alex; they had screwed him over by getting into his head.

"Yeah, you fucked up, now we're suffering for it." Hunter told him darkly, he didn't look even the slightest bit impressed with Michener's confession.

"Coming from a criminal-" Michener started but Hunter pushed up from his bunk and glared at him. Gunner too took a hostile posture as he glared at him.

"The only crime I committed was trying to find my family that your government took from me. For all I know they are working in some factory as slaves because you gave the regional leaders control over Lassiter Industries. They stripped away our working rights and split up our families taking us where we're most useful." Hunter told him.

"How are you useful in a prison?" Michener scoffed as he couldn't make sense of what was going on or what Hunter was saying.

"Please, this is our home and the work was done for the today. Tomorrow we will be back at it. Hard labour putting up those great dividing walls to turn America into several small sovereign nations. Maybe if we're lucky, you'll get squished by one of us all from hearing about how you're innocent you are because guess what? No one cares or believes you." Hunter told him.

* * *

Tom waited as Wu Ming tried to lift the water bottle they'd found to his lips. The man was a wreck of blood, broken bones and bruises, half of his fingers on his right hand were dislocated. His sister softly spoke to him in Mandarin as she took the bottle and helped him take a drink. Whe he had his fill he pulled away and gasped for air. He pulled off the watch Tom had given in a trade to him and shakily held it out to him.

Tom took the watch and shook it near his ear, there was no reason behind it other than to posture in front of Wu Ming. He heard the soft ticking of the watch mechanisms and pocketed it away before he focused on the man.

"How you feeling, Wu Ming? Grateful we saved your life?" Tom asked, Sasha translated for him. Wu Ming looked to Sasha listening to her but then looking to Tom with clear disdain.

He spoke harshly in Mandarin as he made eye contact with Tom. He kept his feature stern as he didn't appreciate Wu Ming trying to dress him down. He did however see in his Peripheral vision that Sasha wasn't impressed as she rolled her eyes like they were dealing with a drama queen.

"He says you brought them to his door. It's you who got everybody in Shanzai killed." Sasha informed him, Tom had to wonder how many slurs she cut of the translation to keep it clean and informative.

"I didn't start this. You and Peng did." Tom said, he waited for Sasha to translate before he continued "Why was Lau Hu torturing you?" he asked, Saha relayed his words in Mandarin to Wu Ming who sneered at him before he replied.

"He says he doesn't know. That Lau Hu believed that Wu Ming was colluding with us against Peng. He wanted to know what we're up to." Sasha translated.

"Tell me about black circles on ships." Tom said, he watched Wu Ming's features close up as Sasha translated. "He's hiding something." he told Sasha.

"What's so precious about those marked ships? Why would Peng go to all this trouble?" Tom asked, Sasha translated and Wu Ming scoffed at the question and shook his head. Tom flicked a look to Burk and gave a nod. Burk who'd been standing to Wu Ming's left took the safety off his side arm and pointed it at Wu Ming's head. Wu Ming's sister gave a cry of fear as she and Wu Ming shook in fear. "Why are you still protecting Peng? After everything he's done to you?" Tom asked him, as he couldn't understand Wu Ming's silence.

"I know nothing. Nothing. Nothing!" Wu Ming told him and for the first time since meeting this man, Tom knew he was telling the truth. He obviously was a middle man, a smuggler but he didn't know what was going on in the larger picture. He was ready to ask another question when a woman started yelling in the backroom.

"What she saying?" Tom asked Sasha as he moved towards the source, he'd sent Danny and Wolf to look around the house for clues. It was clear they found something of worth to rile up the woman up.

"She's claiming that we've done enough damage. That it's not our place to invade their privacy." Sasha translated as they found Wu Ming's Grandmother shouting at Danny and Wolf. The two men were in a side room that a wall which was littered with pieces of paper. He followed Sasha as she walked into the room towards the wall.

"That look like a hull number to you?" Danny asked Tom as he handed him one of the pieces of paper. It looked like a lottery ticket but at the top,second row down; he saw what Danny was pointing out.

"Yes, it does." Tom said, he handed it back to Danny and looked to Sasha who had pulled another ticket off the wall.

"These digits here. These are coordinates... for the Strait of Malacca, the biggest shipping lane in the region." Sasha said.

"It's the Intel Wu Ming sells to pirates." Wolf said.

"If each one of these lottery tickets represents a ship and its location..." Danny drawled, the natural conclusion came to them all that the presumably the ship with a black circle would have the same marking on the lottery ticket. Danny, Sasha and Wolf started yanking on the tickets trying to find at least one. It wasn't until they were half way through when Wolf found one.

"Jackpot." he said, he turned to Tom "Sir." he said as he held it out to him. Tom took the ticket and looked it over. Finally they had a lead they could work with.

* * *

Rachel blew out a breath as she was in near tears, it was barely 10am and the twins did not like their new house or the fact that there was no air conditioning. It wasn't hot. Yet. But it was warm enough for the twins to miss the enjoyment the constant temperature of 24 degrees centigrade from central air conditioning.

So how did they voice their discomfort by crying, which just pulled at her heart strings. She sat outside with them on a blanket in the shade of their next door neighbour's house. She took turns holding them, but once she got Evie calm, Olivia would start up and it was a just a sad game. Ashley and Sammy were inside sleeping or at least she hoped as she hated forcing them to help her. She also wanted them to get some rest after the night they'd had.

"Hey." Relief washed through her as Rachel looked up to see Kate with Scout on a leash.

"What happened to you?" Rachel asked her, a smile played weakly on her lips as she was happy to see her but so incredibly exhausted.

"Oh, you know tranq-ed and flown to 'Utopia'. Want a hand?" she asked her, Rachel gave a nod. Kate tied Scout's leash to the door handle of Rachel's neighbour's home. Scout whimpered his displeasure as he wanted to play with them. Kate gave him a look and he stopped whimpering for a moment but he did lay on his belly with his head between his paws giving them big puppy dog eyes. "He's such a sook." Kate said with a chuckle as she knelt down on the ground near Rachel. She picked Olivia up in her arms and clucked softly at the baby girl.

"I don't blame him, I'm feeling pretty miserable myself." Rachel said.

"It'll pass." Kate assured her, Olivia seemed to calm down in her arms that made Rachel feel better. she already resigned herself with Twins to know that she could only do so much. But just because she couldn't do everything right, she loved the twins which meant more than anything else.

"I don't know," Rachel said hating the negativity she felt.

"I think you're doing fine." Kate said as if reading her mind.

"So, did you get the spiel?" Rachel asked.

"Oh yeah, and an ankle monitor cause I'm 'Rowdy'. " Kate drawled mockingly as she moved her leg out from under her to show off her newest accessory. "I'm not going anywhere and I'm pretty sure by the time I could get an escape plan working I'd be too pregnant to be slipping under wire fences and running like a madwoman." Kate said with a smile.

"Yes, I'd prefer if we don't repeat Baltimore." Rachel said, they both shared their own smile as it was ok for them to joke about that time. But when a third person came in and tried, it was too close to home.

"Yeah, there are also the kids to worry about. Can't leave them behind." Kate said.

"No, we can't." Rachel said as times had really changed for them. Rachel felt it was definitely for the better for both of them even if right now they were in a precarious situation.

* * *

"Tell me you have something." Kara said as she and Ravit walked into the cabin. They both stopped short at the mess of paper strewn across one wall.

"I have lunch, it'll be ready in 10 minutes." Jed said from the kitchen where he was preparing sandwiches.

"Good, I'm starving." Ravit said as she moved to help him. Val and Jacob turned from their wall to look at Kara who was still waiting for an answer.

"We need more information." Val told her.

"What did your ex-boyfriend tell you?" Jacob asked.

"All the surviving military families with service members still on active service have been taken from their homes. They are being held hostage to control the military." Kara told them.

"Makes sense but where?" Jacob asked.

"FEMA camps." Val told him.

"They don't exist." Jacob told Val in a tired tone.

"That's what they say about black sites and they do exist." Val argued, Jacob looked ready to pull his hair out. But Kara decided it was better to go with a wild theory than nothing at all.

"Where can we find these camps?" Kara asked Val. Val wore a thoughtful expression while Jacob threw his hands up in frustration of not being listened to.

"Well, if these families were taken, that's firstly; a lot of man power. Secondly; they'd need supplies and personnel which means there is a paper trail somewhere. Electronically speaking as it's not the 1950s." Val said giving Jed a pointed look. Kara frowned not understanding the references.

"I made a comment about concentration camps that were used to detained Japanese Americans and it was the 1940s." Jed aid correcting Val with a smug expression. Kara mulled over the information as Val was right. They couldn't do any of this without leaving a trail but how to get the information and follow it without being caught was going to be a problem.

"Speaking of World War 2, there's also the problem of Anna in Japan." Ravit pointed out, Kara hadn't forgotten about that but she was selfish as she cared more about finding their families and rescuing her daughter. Anna had Tex and Kat, if they ran into problems they'd be able to solve it themselves. If anything they were safer in Japan than they were here.

"No offence, but Ms Hatake can look after herself. She has the relationships with the Yakuza and the government to be safe." Jacob said.

"They don't like being called the Yakuza anymore." Val told him.

"More like ever." Jed said correcting them both, which earned Jed petulant looks from Val and Jacob. "I know my history and cultures." he added smugly.

"I now see where Captain Chandler gets his asshole tendencies. I thought it was the Navy but it turns out pure Nature." Val aid snarkly with a smile. Jed chuckled but their two and fro was grinding on Kara's patience.

"Can we focus." Kara said.

"Yeah, if we want more info, we'll need to find a place with internet access so I can find out what we need to know." Val told her, finally being serious and making plans which relaxed Kara.

"We'll have to figure out comms as well because at some point we'll have to split up. Also to communicate with the Nathan James." Jed said.

"They are in the South China Seas, when they come back to America they come via Hawaii to refuel to the west coast and most likely make port in San Diego." Kara said finally feeling like they were getting somewhere, that and she felt her sense of purpose and control come back to her.

"But even so, how far out would they be even if we could contact them now?" Val asked.

"At least a fortnight if not more." Kara said, her stomach dropped as it was a lot of time for things to go from worse to catastrophic.

"Which means we need to recruit more soldiers a long the way. People we can trust." Ravit said pointing out the obvious especially if they find more than one site for the camps that held their families.

"I got some old army buddies, they are fairly spread out but they'd help if they knew what was going on. Not too mention I know some younger ones who are completely off the reservation." Jed offered, Kara winced as she wasn't sure she was ready to recruit soldiers who had been dishonourably discharged or medically discharged due to drug and mental health issues. But she knew when came to crunch time, they'd need anyone who was willing to help.

"What does that mean?" Val asked confused.

"Guardians of Mountains, soldiers who lived and endured too much in their past that they can't see the future anymore. So they retreat into the wilderness never to be seen until you mess with their territory." Ravit explained, romanticising what was a serious problem generally ignored by the Military as they just didn't have enough man power and funding to truly help every person that war chewed up and spat out mangled.

"We call them crazies,drug addicts and homeless people here." Jacob said to Ravit.

"Don't disrespect them. They served their country with honour and distinction, it's not their fault that the government didn't take care of them upon their return. But let's not get into that. It's time for lunch." Jed told them all as he gestured to the sandwiches.


	37. Chapter 37

_A/N: Sorry that the updates are slow. Life and writer's block is getting in the way. So please enjoy and also thank you for sticking with the story :)_

* * *

 **Chapter 37**

* * *

Samantha stood in the corner of the President's office. She wasn't sure why she was here given it was a meeting for the Regional leaders to air their problems. The one of many reasons as to what she despised about politics. The never ending squabbling over ridiculously insignificant things just grated on her nerves.

"I noticed that our lone senator was conspicuously absent from this meeting." Oliver commented as he was seated behind his desk rolling through his paperwork while listening to the Regional leaders spoke over him. "Is he trying to send a signal that he's not in support of my administration?" he asked them.

"He's been dealing with powder keg situation up in Bellingham." Castillo informed Oliver.

"Among other things." Price said not slyly.

"If Beatty can't control his region then he should be asking the Military for assistance or the President to allow him to use the National Guard to quell the unrest." Samantha said in a bored tone.

"I'm not sure what your purpose is here." Alex said to Samantha.

"I could say the same of you; given your purview is international relations not domestic issues." Samantha replied with a slight smile as it put Alex in his place.

"I asked Colonel Nash here as it seems that the our Country is a mess. The people Michener pulled together can't seem to make it work." Oliver said looking to the regional leaders.

"Michener was a disappointment to us all as a leader. He plunged more funding into international endeavours we can't afford and put tight restrictions on us making our situations tenable at best in keeping our people happy." Price said.

"Maybe they don't remember what a mess we had five months ago, before Michener and the James came home with the cure." Oliver argued.

"No, they remember, Sir. And they're grateful for the cure, but that doesn't give the government a free pass for everything else, especially since people think that most of the decisions that have come out of here have been disastrous."

"Hell, you can't even prove you rescued your own people."

"The pirates broadcast their faces from a jungle across the globe, and you can't manage a Skype call from a $3 billion warship?"

"The Nathan James is currently engaged on a classified mission. I'm not going to dial them up on the phone just because a few people don't believe the government tells the truth." Samantha told them.

"That is my decision. I want those sailors' faces on the news. Their recovery will help blot out the mess of Michener's actions and the tragic murder of that poor woman." Oliver said to Samantha.

"Sir, with respect. You've been in that chair for less than a day. There are protocols in place to keep the military running at optimal efficiency. I'm not going to endanger those sailors lives for a meaningless puff piece. If you have a problem with that then reassign me but I promise the next person in my shoes will say the same." Samantha told him in a no nonsense manner.

"I would reassign you for such insubordination." Price said in a stout manner, Samantha winked at the woman and inwardly smiled as Price looked off put by it. She just wanted to see how much she could screw with the group as they all seemed to have a tenuous relationship. It wasn't that Samantha wan't to destabilise the country but she didn't like this little consortium before her. They were people that fought and sacrificed a lot to survive during the pandemic. She could respect that, what she couldn't respect was their greed and flash of power. All dressed in well cut suits, hair just so and travelling in style while their people suffered in poverty.

"But let's not lose the forest for the trees." Price added.

"Yes, we're all pleased that the hostages are safe, and we're sure the Colonel and her people will sort out the communications issue. The more pressing issue is our domestic policy. I think we can all agree that Michener jumped too quickly to federalize everything. If you were to curb some of his measures, I'm sure it would go a long way to smoothing things over with Senator Beatty and the American people." Price said, nods were shared around with the group.

"The ration-card program has been the chief cause of unrest, and the limits to bank withdrawals The people do not want the government interfering with how they spend their money." Alex said.

"Come on, Alex. It's all of it. The land-claim issues are just as contentious as the Ration card program." Wilson said in an aggravated and tired manner.

"President Michener started those ration cards, so that all of our citizens can have their fair share of what they need to get-" Samantha started in polite but commanding manner but was cut off by Price.

"Commander-" Ms Price started but Samantha spoke over her.

"It's Colonel, Ms Price. Don't insult my rank or intelligence given we're all aware of my station." Samantha said in a calm manner that made her seem polite and respectful when she was being the opposite.

"True and when we need your advice as it pertains to our military, we'll ask for it." Alex said in a patronising manner.

"Mmm, yet I'm sure you're all going to bring up the matter of giving local militias in your regions more power." Samantha said, she could see the reaction to her words as they resonated with the regional leaders. She'd struck gold on part of their plans.

"You have to admit the Military is stretched a little thin of late." Price told her.

"You've been stoking unrest in your regions to provoke the President. Though I tend to think the fact you can't control your people shows just how inept you are at leading your people. That perhaps it is the people in this room who need to be replaced than militias given more power." Samantha told them all with unwavering confidence as she wasn't going to bend to their demands.

"We're in our posts because we saved our people and regions. Now we need more soldiers and weapons that the military can't and won't provide." Castillo told her.

"You're right- we won't provide them because the use of military on national soil should always be a last resort. In my opinion, we're not there yet." Samantha told them.

"Well, aren't you big for your boots." Price surmised.

"Let's calm down." Oliver said diplomatically.

* * *

"Anna," Tex prompted.

"Hmm?" Anna murmured as she pulled out of her thoughts. She forgot for a moment she was sitting at the table with Tex and Kat eating dinner. They had found a small restaurant near their hotel that was still open.

"You were spaced out there. You need to eat." Tex told her as he motioned to the food on the table. Anna gave a nod and picked up her chopsticks. Kat was in one of the bedrooms sleeping off her jet lag while Tex and Anna ate a late dinner.

"Yeah, sorry. My mind was elsewhere." Anna said, she kept trying to figure out why no one was picking up their phones.

"Kate will call." he assured her if reading her thoughts.

"She should have picked up to begin with." Anna said with a sigh. It had been a long and exhausting day. It wasn't just the flying but the heaviness of being in a country completely decimated by the virus. The grief and despair that was so thick in the air; one could eat it. The people just barely hanging onto life, and the survivors trying to protect what little they had and try to thrive.

"I'm sure she's fine." Tex told her.

"Yeah, I'm just worried about this development. I really wanted to speak with Rachel too, but no answer which is disconcerting given she's practically a hermit with the twins." Anna commented.

* * *

A few hours later,

"We're at 19.83 North by 112.5 East. Course 1-0-0, speed 20 knots, Sir." Gator said looking to Mike and Garnett as they stood at the Navigation station looking over the specs of the current mission and where the ship they were searching for could be hiding. The Helo had been making the rounds all morning trying to locate the ship they were searching for but no luck so far.

"There's a small land mass here which should provide cover from hostile radar detection while giving us a vantage point on the shipping lane indicated on that card." Granderson said pointing to a spot on the map. Mike looked at the lottery care in his hand and turned it over looking at the black spot on the back.

"Helo is standing by to execute fly overs. We expect many vessels to have AIS switched off on account of pirates." Garnett told him. Mike gave a nod as they all knew this wasn't going to be easy. He moved to his chair letting the others take up their stations before he looked over at Tom. The man had wanted to go out on the Helo but given the limited seating preference was Sasha over Tom due her linguistics skills. Mike was glad to be able to witness the sibling rivalry as it made for fun viewing, what he didn't like was being the referee. But beggars couldn't be choosers in their situation.

" _She's Alpha Charlie Foxtrot 79831396_." Burk told them, the atmosphere changing in the room as it could possibly be their ship. Mike looked at the card in his hand trying to match it to the lottery ticket.

"Any of the markings? Tom asked over comm.

"Uh, just a couple of dings from a bad parking job. No black dot." Burk replied.

"No dice." Mike said as he confirmed it wasn't the ship they were looking for.

"Is it possible the ship already passed this location?" Garnett asked looking to Mike and Tom as she was trying to make sense of their lack of success.

"According to Wu Ming's Intel, it was last pinged outside Hainan Harbor yesterday at 2200 hours." Tom said to her.

"Even a wave-piercing catamaran couldn't traverse this shipping lane that quickly." Gator surmised making it clear that they were in for a waiting game. It was at least a small relief that the ship hadn't passed them yet.

" _Captain, radar's tracking small surface vessel approaching our contact point on the shipping lane._ " Lt Commander Burk announced over the internal comms from CIC.

"Nomad, vessel approaching south at 0-2-5. Initiate flyover." Tom ordered.

" _Roger that, Nathan James_. _Making the turn._ " Jesse informed them, they waited for Helo to respond, the nature of the venture weighing on them as it wasn't just finding the ship. But also the questions it would raise if they found something connecting Peng to what was a conspiracy to say the least. Until they had proof, they had nothing.

" _I don't know about this one, Captain_." Green said over comm.

"What's wrong with it?" Tom asked.

" _Oh, there's nothing wrong with it, if you're on spring break in Ibiza_." Green replied.

"What the hell's that mean?" Mike asked with a frown looking to Tom who looked equally confused by Green's statement.

" _It's 120-foot pleasure cruiser. No cargo hold._ " Jesse informed them.

" _Wait a second. Alpha Zulu Bravo 79863 Lima 309_." Burk said over comm. Mike looked at the lottery card in his hand.

"That's it." Mike confirmed.

 _"And we're staring at a big old dark side of the moon_." Burk informed them.

* * *

"Bon Apetit." Hunter quipped as Michener sat down at their table with a tray of food. Though calling it food was a real stretch of the imagination. It was a white gruel like substance with orange and green indistinguishable chunks, bread that looked to be more mould than bread and piece of mystery meat loaf.

"This is appalling." Michener said as his stomach turned at the sight. He was exhausted after a long day of hard labour. He was used to office work and going for walks, maybe a bit of gardening in his old life. His new one as an unfairly imprisoned man was not easy, the men around him despised him not just for his past but also for the present as he wasn't pulling his weight. He tried, he just was not as fit as them. Yet. The only upside was that the work was gruelling enough that he could forget how he got there and the fact he was stuck.

"Yeah, not like them steaks you eat the White House aye?" Gunner asked.

"Welcome to the Real World." Gunner grunted as he ate the food as if he didn't have a problem with it.

"I know what the real world looks like." Michener said defensively.

"Yeah from the top. Now you're on the bottom with the rest of us. It's very different." Gunner reminded him.

"So how did you get here POTUS?" Carlos asked, Michener had been chained by the ankle to the Hispanic man in his 30s. He apparently been an enforcer for a prominent biker gang. He was also an ex-marine, it seemed that majority of men in the prison all served in the Military and held prominent positions in organised crime syndicates at some point. Or were active Military service members who'd been incarcerated for dereliction of duty.

"He murdered a Navy Dude's wife." Hunter reminded him.

"I didn't kill her-" Michener started as he hated that story. One thing men hated in what could be classified as a Military prison was a man who'd killed military spouses or families. Not that Michener had but they all believed he did thanks to the media and his lack of proof.

"News said you were high on drugs while you did it. Don't worry, happens to lots of drug addicts. Last year, my friend's cousin had a bad trip on some tainted PCP. She literally tore into her boyfriend and started eating his guts. So messed up right?" Carlos asked in a tone that told Michener that he was being baited.

"It wasn't like that and I was drugged. I do not take drugs." Michener told him firmly.

"Not anymore, though in here you might be able to score something but you gotta have money or sell your body. Given today's sloppy work, I don't think you'll get a good deal for your flat ass." Carlos told him, he and Hunter laughed at the poor taste joke.

"Maybe if you'd looked after the country better then people would've believed you." Gunner said casually as he took a sip of his drink.

"Like any of you could have done better." Michener grumbled.

"Please, we all got experience at being leaders of people and I know I could do better than you." Carlos told him, puffing out his chest and looking confident and proud.

"Tell me." Michener prompted. Carlos eyed him for a moment before he leaned forward and spoke in a low voice.

"First, you shouldn't have kicked Lassiter to the curb and broke up her business. She was hot, and stupid. She was giving everything away for free, paying people living wage. You know what that does? lowers the poverty, increases taxes and boosts the little people. When people are paid their worth they work hard to keep it and to make more. Which cycles more money through the economy and government. You forget that we stupid folk are the foundations of the society. She probably would've bankrupted herself but all that money filtered into the American economy instead of sitting in a bank doing nothing for us." Carlos told him.

"It doesn't really work like that." Michener told him as the men didn't understand the intricacies of how their government operated. But he listened as he preferred to not get shivved for being an asshole.

"It was working, you and your rich regional leaders didn't like it, cause they'd have to lose all the money they've been embezzling for months to actually help other people." Hunter pointed out.

"Yeah and screw the rest of the world, why the fuck would you brown nose President Peng. We got our own problems. Luckily,we're also blessed with a lot of land and enough people with know how to build, grow and maintain shit we need. Sure send out the cure as a token of affection but who gives a crap what China is doing in the South China Seas or if New Zealand is taking over Australia or whatever. Let them sort out their shit, we got to rebuild. America doesn't have the resources now to fight any wars over things that we don't need." Carlos added.

"It's true, let them fight out their shit so by the time they come to us. We're back to being King of the Jungle. Cause, right now we're that dude who empties the King's dookie pot." Hunter told Michener.

* * *

" _Nomad, you're a go for approach_." Garnett said over comm.

"All right, boys and girls, let's drop in for a cocktail." Jesse said as she steered the Helo around the cruiser, letting the man at the helm aware of their presence. When they came around for the second circle, the man pulled an assault rifle and pointed it up in the air ready to take his chances.

"Don't do it, buddy!" Green shouted over the comm, his voice booming through the Helo's external speakers. The man gripped the weapon obviously not listening to them. Jesse held the Helo letting it hover in the air above the ship. "We are US Navy. Lay down your weapons! We don't want to hurt you, but we will be boarding your vessel." Green announced. The man placed his weapon down at the announcement they were US Navy and held his hands up in surrender.

"Nathan James, vessel is surrendering." Burk informing the ship. Within minutes Jesse had the Helo hovering over the backend of the ship. They dropped down onto the deck and Jesse moved back up to a higher altitude.

Green took point as Burk and she went to the helm. They secured the ship owner's weapon and stopped the engines, dropped anchor. "Are there any more weapons on your vessel?" Green asked the pilot.

Sasha began to repeat it in Mandarin when the man spoke in hideous American. "I can speak English yo!. The name is Kai and you can't search my boat." he told them. He was dressed for a tropical getaway and had a gut that aid he hadn't missed an all you could eat buffet in a long time. He reminded Sasha of a comical Buddha who indulged in one too many vices given he was smoking a joint in front of them.

"You waved a gun at the US Military in International waters. So instead of being a punk, Kai; answer the question." Green told him.

"No one here but me and that gun is for my protection from pirates." Kai told them.

"Stay with him." Danny ordered Sasha, she gave a nod and watched the two men continue as they went to make sure there were alone. She could see on the horizon that the Nathan James had sent out two RHIBs with teams to help secure the boat and search it. She

"How long you been working this channel?" Sasha asked him.

"The only channel I'd like to work is yours. I'd work it hard." He said salaciously as he licked his lips. Sasha gave him a dull look as she couldn't be bothered to be disgusted by him and his advances given she was inure from years of such behaviour.

"I'm sure you would," Sasha drawled drily, as she pulled his M16 to pieces and tossed the firing pin into the ocean.

"Hey! you can't do that!" Kai protested.

"You'd be amazed at what I can do. Oops." She remarked as she threw another part of the weapon overboard. She wasn't a fan of littering but she was doing the world a favour by destroying Kai's gun as the man was a moron.

" _Cooper, bring Kai down into the main cabin_." Green ordered.

"On our way," she said in her comm before she looked to Kai. "Come on big boy." she said as she gestured for him to move.

"You know I'm big in all the right places." Kai told her in a salacious manner. Sasha gave him a dark smile.

"I'm a very destructive person. You sure you want me to do what I did to your gun to your ship or perhaps your face?" She asked him in a mockingly innocent manner.

"No." Kai mumbled as he was reminded about what she'd done to his weapon. So he gave a huff of resignation and started moving.

"Right decision." Sasha told him.

"Oh, what?" Kai protested as they came down into the indoor entertainment area to find the clear destruction of his ship in their search. "Is this even necessary, yo?" he asked, looking to Sasha.

"Tell us where Peng's cargo is and we'll stop right now." Sasha told him with a faint smile.

"Does this even look like a cargo ship to you?" Kai asked her incredulously.

"We tossed the whole vessel. All we found were a couple more M16s and a case of Cristal. " Burk said as he came into the room.

"See? What'd I tell you? No cargo ship." Kai told her as he saw her as the leader of the group.

"If you've got nothing to hide, then why run from a US Navy ship?" Sasha asked, reminding the man of how when the Nathan James had poked it's nose out from where it had been hiding, Kai had sped up to try and outrun them.

"It's the apocalypse, man. All kinds of people get in all kinds of boats saying all kinds of shit. You could have been pirates, for all I know. This is my boat! You can't take it from me!" Kai protested.

"Oh, yeah?" Green asked as he stopped overturning life vests to join the conversation. "You got bills of sales for those weapons?" he asked Kai, Kai frowned at him which told him that the man had no clue. "Well, then you're in violation of international maritime law. The U.S. Navy has a right to place you under arrest and commandeer this vessel." Green informed him.

"Hell, no! This is my baby! Y-You can't do this, yo!" He told them stuttering like an idiot who had no clue of his rights or how to argue them. Sasha almost felt sorry for him but knew the man was hiding something. So all sympathy was gone.

"We sure can, yo." Sasha said smugly. "So if you want to keep your precious ship, you start talking." Sasha told him firmly. He looked at her with a petulant look, and gave a sigh like she had told him to give her the keys to his favourite toy.

"Americans. You're so self-righteous." Kai grumbled he moved to the bar and turned one of the beer taps to the side. A click sounded and a panel in the wall behind the bar popped open. He pulled open the panel door wider to show it was packed deeply with drugs. Sasha exchanged looks with Green and Burk not expecting this kind of development. It also made no sense to her.

"Move. Well, that's cocaine. Heroin." Green said looking back to Sasha and Burk, Sasha looked to Kai to explain himself.

"How much more of this have you got?" she asked him.

"Five more crates. Come on, yo. This can't even be illegal anymore. The people have suffered enough. I'm just meeting needs." Kai said defending his source of income.

"Where'd you pick it up?" Green demanded as he and Sasha moved to the compartment space.

"An island off of Hainan. Chinese MSS dudes loaded me up. I don't want to mess with them." Kai told them. Sasha frowned in disbelief and confusion.

"Peng doesn't bother with drugs." Sasha said, she shook her head as it was too small of an industry for Peng to care. Why would he protect drug shipments to such a degree. So she pulled out the drugs in the hopes they were obscuring the real reason for all of this.

"Hey, what are you doing, yo?! You know what my suppliers will do to me if even one of those is missing?" Kai demanded from behind them but Sasha ignored him as she found herself looking at a panel. She knocked on the wooden panel noting the slightly hollow sound but it was the softness of the panel that got her interest.

"Shut up." Danny told him, Sasha pulled out her K-Bar and pried away the panel, her eyes went wide as she had expected a maintenance section but instead found packing straw. She pulled it away and found a missile.

"Holy Shit." Kai exclaimed, summing it up rather nicely.

* * *

Kate laid on the couch gently stroking the bridge of Scout's nose to his forehead and back down. The puppy sleepily thumped his tail in happiness as he laid sprawled on the floor.

Dinner had come and gone. It had been a fairly big affair as Lena cooked a large meal for them and Rachel, Sammy and Ashley. It had been a quiet dinner, the older children were quiet and in Zoe's case cranky from lack sleep. Frankie and the twins were also siding with Zoe's behavior sharing their displeasure of their new homes. But nothing could be done except to show patience and care.

The adults pooled their attention and resources to help one another as it was too easy to feel fried out by the events of the past twelve hours. Rachel and the kids went back to their house for the evening. Kate helped Rachel settle the twins before taking Scout for a walk.

When she got back it was decided that Lena and Zoe would sleep up in the loft while Maddy, Frankie and Kate slept downstairs. Scout just plonked himself down where he wanted which was on the floor below Kate's bed. She knew she should stick him in the bathroom but there was no gate and frankly she didn't like the idea of locking him up in such a tiny space.

But she did make sure the exterior of the basket that was Frankie's bed was covered in a sheet as they didn't need Scout poking his head in and waking Frankie up.

"I can't sleep." Maddy whispered from her side of the couch.

"Same, just have to wait for it come to you." Kate said as she left Scout to sleep and sank into her own bedding trying to relax.

"What will happen to us?" Maddy asked.

"I don't know, but your Dad will find us and everything will work out." Kate told her.

* * *

"The missile's clearly been retrofitted since its manufacture. Has to be a chemical weapon of some kind." Sasha said to Tom and Mike as they stood outside the decontamination shower room. It had been turned into a quarantine zone to investigate the weapon. Lt Bell and Ensign Nishioka slowly took the missile apart to study it. They were dressed in hazard suits and the air vents to the room had been sealed just in case. Tom had no clue what dangers laid in the weapon so they took what precautions they could.

"He picked up those crates 100 miles southeast of Hainan?" Tom asked Sasha as she had been the one to brief him. He knew Peng was hiding something and this looked to be pretty big but otherwise not incriminating given Kai the smuggler wasn't going to corroborate anything or give an official statement.

"Paraiso Island." Sasha clarified for him.

"You sure that trafficker didn't know what was in them?" Mike asked Sasha.

"He was perfectly happy being a run-of-the-mill drug runner. Nearly wet himself when we found this." Sasha said, Nishioka and Bell removed plating from the side of the missile and slowly pulled out metal balls. "Those bomblets were designed in the '60s to carry Sarin." Sasha said as recognised them from her own background knowledge of the history of biological weaponry. She was trained for her position in D.O.D. to recognise all types of weaponry in the case she stumbled across them in her travels.

"What do you think the range is on that missile?" Tom asked the question was for the room than anyone in particular.

"Depending on the weight of those bomblets, my guess, it could release high enough to blanket a 20-mile radius." Mike offered.

"You wanted to see me?" Jesse asked as she came into the small observation room.

"Back in Hong Kong, you mentioned seeing some missiles." Tom said, he moved to the side to see if she recognised the missile in their possession.

"Yellow, with red tips. These are the same ones Peng was moving in Guangzhou. The day my brother was killed." Jesse said, a loud pop sounded from inside the room. Their attention drew into the small room where Bell was on the floor, a green mist covering the room obscuring their view. Mike called for Rios and a med team.

"Green mist." Sasha said in shock but it was gone as the room was doused by the sprinkler system. Nishioka was kneeling down next to Bell who's mask had cracked. He pulled off the mask in a reflex and coughed as the water doused them. Mike moved to the phone receiver on the wall and called for Rios and Hazmat.

"Everyone ok in there?" Tom asked over the comm. The water had shut off and the window cleared enough for them to assess the damage. Nishioka helped Bell off the floor and both gave thumbs up.

"Sorry Sir, I accidentally tripped the bomblet or it was faulty." Lt Bell said, his mask was off and he had superficial damage to his face; a few nicks and cuts.

"Rios is on his way, so sit tight." Tom told them.

* * *

Kate woke at the sound of the blender with a start. She looked around to see Lena in the kitchen with a smile looking at her.

"Morning." She said over the noise.

"What's the time?" Kate asked, wincing at the noise but also her own fatigue as she flopped back onto the couch and covered her eyes waiting for them to adjust to the brightness of the day. She'd definitely overslept as Maddy and Zoe were no where in sight and Frankie was in her crib awake as her arms were waving around.

"10 am." Lena said, the blender stopped and the room grew blissfully quiet with exception of Frankie who was making adorable noises.

"Where are the kids?" Kate asked a little bleary eyed as she turned her head to look at what Lena was doing.

"School." Lena said as she came over with a glass of what looked to be a berry smoothie but looks were usually deceiving. "It's beetroot, spinach, carrot and apple." she said as she placed it on the coffee table for Kate.

"School?" Kate asked surprised to hear as much.

"No point in them moping around in here. Utopia claims to have the best childcare and education system." Lena remarked as if she were reading a brochure but not quite being sold the pitch. "A happy helper dropped by and told me as much. So I went with them, stayed for a bit to make sure it was all well and then came back." Lena told her.

"Scout?" Kate asked.

"Well, it's show and tell at preschool today." Lena told her.

"Zoe's going to be popular." Kate remarked but she had to admit she missed Scout's presence and also the girls. She didn't like them being away from her in what was a foreign locale. But then they were being held here for a reason with the grandiose illusion to make them feel special. So she had to trust that they'd keep the illusion up to stop people from rioting.

"Yes, she is." Lena said proudly. "You need to get up." she added.

"Why? I'm not going anywhere." Kate told her, she had to admit laying down for the rest of the day sounded pretty good to her.

"Because, it's not good to lay around all the time. Also we need to scope the defences. Now drink." Lena ordered as she picked up the smoothie glass and held it out to Kate.

"Scope the defences?" Kate asked with a frown.

"Isn't that what you Military say? We have to know our enemy and we can't do that hiding out in here." Lena told her.

"Even if we did find weaknesses to exploit, we'd have no way of communicating what we know nor a chance to escape given all the obstacles in front of us." Kate argued, she felt defeated just because of her pregnancy and the babies. There was no way to be covert with babies as they were never quiet.

"We have to prepare ourselves for if a chance makes itself available." Lena argued, Kate looked at her and could see the woman was keen to get to work.

"Ok," Kate said pushing herself up and taking the glass from her. "But no Military talk, it'll just get us in trouble." Kate told her.

* * *

"How's Bell?" Tom asked Rios as the man stepped into Mike's stateroom.

"He has a low grade fever and fatigue. So I'll be keeping him in the infirmary for the time being." Rios said to him and Mike. Tom could see Rios was concerned and looking unsettled; something that wasn't a good thing. Given that whatever was in that Bomblet; Lt Bell had inhaled a good portion of it before they had hit the decontamination button.

"Should we be worried?" Mike asked Rios.

"I'm not sure, I collected some blood and mucous samples from Lt Bell and the bomblet looked under the microscope that Diaz found in our storage. Apparently not all of Dr Scott's things were removed from the ship as I first thought. Lucky for us. May I sir?" He asked gesturing to Mike's computer. Mike stepped away and nodded.

"Thank you," he signed in under his own name and brought up files. "Now I need you to understand that this is outside of my wheelhouse. I can only make suppositions which could be incorrect." Rios stated.

"Just say whatever it is." Mike said not wanting to waste time.

"Ok, The substance in the bomblet looks like nothing much. But once it hits liquid; bacteria starts to grow at an exponential rate. So I think when it's inhaled it goes into the alveoli of the lungs and propagates before it seeps into the blood stream somehow. I checked and found this same bacteria is Kyoko and Takehaya's blood." He opened a picture on the screen that looked like lots of globs except some were clumped together.

"What are we looking at?" Mike asked.

"That bacteria is wrapped around the cure cells. It's blocking the cure from doing it's job and consuming it. Lt Colonel Cooper asked Kyoko about the mist, she said it was days before the cure arrived in Japan. I think and remember this is with no real proof that if this mist is inhibits the cure. So when the cure is introduced, the body this bacteria latches on it and stops the cure from working." Rios told them, it wasn't as eloquent as one would expect from a doctor but then they were asking a lot from Rios.

"So the cure is useless." Mike surmised as it made sense as to what was going on.

"It's my theory." Rios said not looking impressed with himself but sticking to his guns.

"What about the rest of us?" Tom asked him as last he heard Lt Bell wasn't doing well.

"I don't know, Lt Bell could be just fighting off a reaction to the chemicals or I don't know. I can't say as his blood was clean. We'll have to wait and see and hope for the best." Rios said uncomfortably as it meant they were potentially in a very dangerous situation. Mike and Tom exchanged looks not liking the situation at all.

"How's Takehaya and Kyoko?" Mike asked.

"Not good, Sir. They are deteriorating, but I don't think it's the virus that's killing them." Rios said.

"How so?" Tom asked.

"They're displaying symptoms that the first human trial of the cure showed. Liver failure, rashes, poor circulation. As I said I don't think they are dying from the virus but I just can't prove it. It's just a gut feeling." Rios said clearly frustrated.

* * *

Half an hour later,

"Kyoko, in her fever... She was murmuring about a green mist that came in the night." Sasha said as she sat at the couch in Mike's stateroom, Mike sat in his office chair while Tom took up the single seat arm chair looking down at the map on the small coffee table. They'd come together to just wrap their head around everything they had learned.

"If we go off of Rios' theory, then we know why Peng was hoarding the cure. He could fire those missiles over uncured populations, so when the cure finally does arrive... It doesn't work." Mike said.

"That boat was headed to Taiwan on a run. Jesse saw the missiles near Vietnam." Sasha said pointing to the map they had the on the table.

"By the time we got to the ports to receive the cure, it was already too late." Tom said looking down at the map trying to figure out what Peng's mission objectives were so they could make a counter move.

"We were welcomed as heroes in Vietnam. Everyone came out of hiding to get the cure. If they were exposed to this..." Mike drawled,he felt sick to his stomach knowing that their efforts were thwarted. That no one had been saved if anything they helped expedite the virus in taking more victims.

"They spread out across the country to pass on the contagious cure, and if they were exposed to the red flu... they spread that instead." Tom said in mild disbelief as they'd come so far with transporting the cure only for that work to be unravelled.

"That was 10 days ago." Sasha stated, angry at the situation as she'd been so close to the information but it had still been outside of her grasp. If she'd known maybe things could've been different.

"And we don't know how many of these missiles there are." Mike said.

"So... now we know what Peng's plan is. It's genocide." Tom said.


	38. Chapter 38

_A/N: So yeah, it's been a while. I'll be honest I had terrible writer's block. But I'm back and I've decided to make the chapters shorter for my own sanity in the hopes of being able to post once a week. It also means the story will go a little longer than I anticipated. I hope you're all still with me. Also thank you so much for hanging around and for the reviews! Keep them coming just so I know you're all still alive :)_

* * *

 **Chapter 38**

* * *

"How is it going?" Kara asked Val in a low voice, they were parked at an abandoned house that sat on a hill. It was hooked up to the phone lines which made it perfect as they could see anyone coming their way and have access to the internet.

"Great, this is probably what the internet was like in the 90s. Slow." Val told her with an aggravated sigh as she kept at her work. Kara had no clue what she was up to she just trusted Val. She trusted that this adventure was not a waste of time. She just wished Val would hurry up as it was dangerous for them to be this exposed.

"It was working fine yesterday." Kara commented.

"Yeah well we're out in the fucking boonies as Kate would say and the internet not work so good." Val told her in a patronising manner that made Kara smile; easing the tension somewhat. But Kara still remained alert and hoped they found out where Frankie and the others had been taken. Possibly come up with a way to let the Nathan James know what was going on.

"You don't have to be rude." Kara reminded her as she kept scanning the surroundings making sure they weren't detected. So far, nothing but even she knew that could change in a blink of an eye.

"I know, it's just that I'm doing my best." Val told her before she exclaimed "Yes!."

"What?" Kara asked her, Val typed furiously on her laptop; completely engrossed for a minute before she spoke.

"I got through the bullshit and there is a satellite moving our way. Faster speeds which means I'll be able to get what we need." Val said with a sigh of pleasure.

"Ok." Kara said as it was progress but nothing to her in the moment.

"I also found a backdoor into the White House servers and- Ok I know who's work this is. I just follow the breadcrumbs-whoa." Val said, she leaned back from the screen as if it were a cobra ready to strike.

"What?" Kara asked.

"You need to look at this." Val told her, Kara moved away from the window to Val's side. She looked down at the screen and her eyes grew wide in pure fear.

"Oh my god." Kara said as she couldn't believe what she was looking at.

* * *

"Like the red flu, it arrives silently, infecting everyone it touches. The victims have no idea they've been poisoned. They hear the news... The cure has arrived... So they rush out of hiding, leaving safe zones and quarantines for the promise of protection, of salvation. They don't know they're already dead. And the deception at its core makes it all the more sinister. Whole nations are at risk of complete extinction, and they don't know it. This is genocide. Sir, the missile we found contained enough of the anti-cure to affect a 20-mile radius or more, depending on the winds. Strategically deployed at ports where the actual cure would be delivered, President Peng could kill off a country the size of Japan with only six of these weapons." Tom explained, as he and Sasha were in the Comms room talking to the President and his staff in St Louis.

They didn't have much proof and so far they knew that anyone innoculated with the cure before being infected was immune to the biological weapon. Just assumptions and inferences based on what they had.

Tom felt strongly that it was enough to share the information. He had wanted to speak with Samantha first and see what they had on their end in America but his call had been routed to President's office and onto speaker phone. Something about it made him uncomfortable given the old court house wasn't exactly built with sound proof walls and even so. There was the issue of them speaking on a secure but still an open channel.

" _And how many more of these missiles are out there, Captain?_ " Oliver asked.

"It's hard to say, Sir. But we're pretty sure we know where they're coming from." Tom said.

" _And where is that?_ " Oliver asked, Tom was about to answer but Sasha stepped forward spoke before him.

"Uh, Mr. President, the intel from the man whose ship we intercepted suggests that the missiles were either picked up or manufactured from a small island called Paraiso. It was an old U.S. Army forward operating base from World War II. Mothballed in the '50s, it was believed to be uninhabited until now." Sasha informed them, it was her knowledge to share given she was Army and familiar with the area.

" _And how certain are you of this intelligence?_ " Oliver asked them.

"Fairly certain. Peng is too smart to do this out in the open. He'd build and transport these weapons out of sight to conceal his involvement." Sasha half lied, the lie was that they weren't even sure of what they had found but only assumed it to be bad. But they were truthful in that it was connected to Peng as he controlled the MSS.

" _And what do you need from me?_ " Oliver asked.

"Sir, Shackleton and Hayward have been running in circles since this whole thing began. I'd like them to join us. We're gonna need them to take on Peng and what's left of his navy." Tom told him.

" _My understanding is that President Michener once offered you those ships and you turned him down, choosing to run this operation solo._ " Oliver said, there was a hint of wariness and frustration in the man's tone.

"Yes, sir." Tom confirmed.

" _And since then, you've left a lot of bodies in your wake, many of them American sailors. Captain, we don't know each other well, but you need to know that if my first act in office is to declare war on China, I'd like to base it on something more than the testimony of smugglers and pirates_."Oliver told him, it was clear Oliver didn't have much faith in them but was keeping an open mind.

"Of course, Sir." Tom replied, he felt the score of pain and guilt at Oliver's words. He understood Oliver's position on not wanting to start a war with China. But what Oliver didn't know was that China made the first strike. But Tom had no proof which meant he had to take full responsibility of his actions without one note of reason.

" _Go to this Paraiso island, find the source of these missiles, tie it to Peng, and I'll do everything in my power to help you finish him off. Consider those two ships under your command._ " Oliver told him.

"Thank you, Sir." Tom said, the ever present knot in his chest twisting tighter as he was taking a gamble and knew when it would fail; he'd have to bear responsibility for his actions.

 _"Good luck."_ Oliver told him, Tom heard the note of finality in the president's tone before the comms line was severed. He looked to Sasha who gave him 'Well let's get to it.' look; she was completely unfazed by it. He moved for the door and left the room with her on his six.

"What are you thinking?" Sasha asked him casually, there was no accusation in her tone at all which was refreshing.

"Nothing." Tom told her, Sasha snorted.

"You never stop thinking." She scoffed.

"We shouldn't have stated where we were going." Tom told her, he stopped in his walking and turned to her. The P-way was empty of staff which was a small blessing as they didn't need to see Tom looking unsettled.

"We wouldn't have gotten approval." Sasha pointed out, he gave a sigh and nodded as it was true. They couldn't go cloak and dagger with a man like Oliver. He didn't have a military background and thus wouldn't understand or appreciate the need of confidentiality.

"I know, I just have a bad feeling in my bones. Something is wrong." He told her in a low voice, he trusted her to take him at his word. To not mock him for raising such intangible 'nonsense' as his feelings. It was usually Mike who had a bad feeling while Tom held undying confidence in meeting their targets and outdoing themselves.

"We can scrap the mission." Sasha offered.

"No, we're close. We just need to keep on our toes." Tom told her.

* * *

"Dennis, what's with your face? You look like someone threatened to boil your pet rabbit." She told him as she read over current reports on her desk. Dennis looked unnerved as he held a manilla folder under one arm and stepped into her office and closed the door behind him.

"I found that information you wanted and more." he told her, he moved to her side of the desk and passed her the folder. "I also spoke with Val."

"Spoke?" Samantha asked for clarification.

"Well, it's a chat room on our servers." Dennis said as he motioned to her laptop. She moved to the side making space for him.

"We have a chat room?" She asked, she watched him as he used her laptop bringing up a screen that reminded her of her DOS days when she was a teenager with her first computer.

"We have one now. It seems as though our servers have been breached. Not by me or Val but another party. The point is they left a backdoor in the system. Val used it to upload a simplistic chat room. No video or audio." Dennis told her.

"Ok, I have many questions but for now, let's stick to what you have," Samantha told him.

"Ok, so I did as you asked. It looks like the Army and Air force have been retasked. But there's more, but it's all in jargon and coded words that I don't really understand." Dennis told her

"I can see that, what are they doing?" She asked as she skimmed over the reports not believing what she was reading. There seemed to be a joint mission being undertaken by the Army and Air force called 'Operation Homestead'.

It looked as if they were rounding people in the hundreds and relocating them to secure locations. But all the locations in the file had monikers she hadn't heard or knew of. There seemed to be a secondary mission called 'Project Genesis' by Avocet Tech , it didn't go into detail only that it was being revived and performed at certain locations.

"Val said that the Army has been rounding up military families and transporting them somewhere. This file proves it but-" Dennis stopped as the door to the office opened and Alex came into her office with no respect of her space.

"Oh, good, I found you, Nash; I'm looking for the troop readiness reports for the President." Alex told her, he looked to her and Dennis with a suspicious look.

"You ever heard of knocking?" Samantha asked him drily as she closed the file in her hand and looked to Alex with annoyance.

"Was I interrupting something?" Alex asked with an amused smile as he obviously assumed something salacious.

"Yes, we were discussing the garbled radio signals. Dennis was informing me he's had no such luck in clearing the noise or in deciphering what it is. I'm thinking we need to outsource it." Samantha told Alex plainly.

"Discussing it behind closed doors." Alex said curiously.

"I have a migraine from the ambient noise that travels into my office. So yes, I prefer the door to be closed. As for the reports, the President will have to put me on his schedule." Samantha told him.

"The President has made changes to how the office is run-" Alex started but Samantha cut him off.

"That affect the civilian side, but Military run by separate set of rules that haven't changed in over 100 years. I'm a traditionalist, so in this regard the President will have to be more accommodating to my stodgy ways. You can go." Samantha told him, Alex reared back at her insubordination but she had the excuse of having a migraine even though she was fine.

"You can't speak to me like that." Alex told her.

"You need to respect that this is my space. I'd like you to leave as I'm a very busy person. I'll call the President's secretary and make an appointment with him to discuss the troop's readiness reports." Samantha informed him coolly, Alex narrowed his eyes as he moved to her desk, he looked down his nose at her.

"You know I'm worried, Nash." Alex told her.

"About what, sir?" Samantha asked not put off by his demeanour and clocking how he was testing her.

"About you, about whose team you're on." Alex told her.

"I'd say I'm on the team that is committed to the recovery of the United States as I was when the Nathan James first landed in St. Louis with Captain Chandler." Samantha told him.

" Ah, yes. The Great Captain Chandler. The legend, the man that we devoted enormous amounts of time and resources to get out of trouble." Alex drawled.

"I understand your concern, sir, but now that Captain Chandler has uncovered a genocide in Asia..."

" Alleged genocide. Nash, you have to remember, we're living in a post-apocalypse. Facts and truths are just as much the victim of this plague as everything else. Right now, the best thing we can do is focus on the American people." Alex told her.

"Isn't that what we're already doing? Last thing we need is for Peng to come after us after he's finished with Asia." She said, Alex wore a secret smile on his lips which told her that he knew a lot more than he was sharing. One word came to her mind, 'coup' and then everything fell into place as she realised what was going on. She now bet that he was a party to the coup that was slowly happening under their noses.

"Everyone is looking eastward while our country is collapsing beneath our feet. I guess I'm wondering where you'll stand when the chips fall." Alex said casually but it was clear what he wasn't saying.

"Right where I need to be." Samantha told him, he scoffed at her in amusement and left the room. But his message was clear just as hers was. She knew she could never convince Alex and Allison she was on their side but it was good to know the hammer was about to fall. She rose from her chair and closed the door before she looked to Dennis, her mind muddling over Alex's words.

"What was that?" Dennis asked completely confused by what had passed.

"We're in something way over our heads." Samantha told him honestly, she knew how coups worked but she'd never been right in the middle of one. Suddenly she felt like she was the lion's den with a gun handy.

"Don't I know it." Dennis replied.

"As long as we don't raise too many red flags, we should be safe, for now. So tell me everything that you have." She told him.

* * *

Mike walked down to the Infirmary; he'd woken up with a terrible feeling in his gut like something wrong. It made him wonder if it was this continuous adventure around Asia or something back home. He wished he could call and talk to Kate, to hear that she was ok instead of worrying. But it was what he did as he worried about how she was, how his girls were. He wondered if his Mom was driving Kate insane as she had with Christina when she was pregnant with her alternative medicine ra-ra.

"Hey, Doc, give me the room." Mike said to Rios, as Takehaya had asked to see him alone. This was as good as it was going to get for the man who held him and crew captive and tortured them.

"I'll check on your wife and son." Rios told Takehaya.

"Thank you." Takehaya told Rios sincerely, Rios gave an uncomfortable nod and left them closing the door to the other room to give them privacy. Mike had caught a glimpse of Kyoko and Kaito through the door before it closed. Kyoko had been singing softly in Japanese to her child.

"How are they doing?" Mike asked Takehaya as the man's eyes stayed on the closed door for a moment before returning to Mike.

"My son is strong. My wife and I... The transfusions are becoming less effective." Takehaya said sadly. Mike gave a nod as he knew he should hate the man before him but in this moment; he pitied him, he was empathetic to the man's situation.

"Heard you were looking for me." Mike said changing the subject so he wouldn't have to think too hard about how Takehaya's son would grow up without a father and mother.

"I overheard talk about the missiles your people found. Your doctor is treating a man exposed to a biological weapon." Takehaya said, Bell was currently in the surgical bay in isolation coughing up his guts.

Mike knew he would be another casualty if there was a cure found or if Bell's body couldn't fight off whatever was in the green powder. It scared Mike as he thought of all the people who were at risk and it made him wonder how safe the rest of them would be if they were exposed to it.

"We don't know what it does exactly, only that it isn't good." Mike told him, which felt like an understatement.

"And Peng is responsible." Takehaya stated, there was no question as they all knew the truth.

"Looks like." Mike said not arguing the point. They shared an enemy now, even so Takehaya wanted to redeem himself for his son and wife. Something Mike begrudgingly admired.

"What Peng did to Japan, we cannot allow that to happen again... Anywhere." Takehaya told him firmly.

"On that, we agree." Mike said.

"Let me help you. I have men. I have ships. I know these waters. We can fight him together. I owe you that much, Captain." Takehaya told him.

"Get some rest, Captain." Mike told him

* * *

A knock sounded on the door, Kate rose from the lounge as Scout started yapping and running around. "Scout, sit." She ordered, the puppy sat on his caboose but squirmed with excitement at who could be interrupting their dinner.

Kate looked through the glass doors and frowned as it looked to be soldiers. She looked to Lena and they both shared a frown. The girls who'd been eating shrunk back from the door as the men looked dangerous. Kate opened the glass door and looked to them. Before she could even say 'Hi' one of the soldiers spoke.

"Kathryn Lassiter, you'll need to come with us." he told her.

"It's dinner, can't this wait until tomorrow?" Kate asked him.

"No," He told her firmly.

"Ok, where are we going?" Kate asked as she wasn't budging until she knew what this was about. The man must have sensed her defensiveness as he gave a sigh and relaxed.

"The medical centre. The doctor wants to see you." He told her.

"Everything was fine when I was hauled here." Kate told him.

"They lost your records and have to retest you. Please Ma'am. We're only following orders and if you resist we will have to compel you." He informed her. Kate swallowed a witty reply and decided it was better to play nice than put up a fight only because she didn't want to be injured or hurt the baby.

"And it has to be done right now?" She asked them.

"I'm not a doctor, she just told us to get you." He told her, basic grunt speak for he didn't care to know.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Lena asked Kate, but Kate shook her head as someone had to stay with the kids. If they wanted blood then she had to comply and hope the terrible feeling in her gut was just morning sickness.

"No, I'm sure it's nothing. I'll be back." Kate told them. She gave Lena and the girls a smile as she left the building and closed the door. Scout went up to the glass and scratched at the glass wanting to go with her.

She turned attention back to the guards and followed them, quietly. She try to calm her nerves as she felt a wave of nausea and dizziness wash through her. Something wasn't right as her body was stressed out. She stopped and looked at them as her vision blurred with sparks and speckles.

"I can't-" she told them as she bent over and tried to breathe so she wouldn't vomit.

"Ma'am." The main soldier said.

"I'm going-" she didn't get to finish the word as she blacked out. When she slowly came to, she was laying in a room she'd never seen. It looked like an operating theatre much like the one in Baltimore.

Cold sweat prickled her skin, her pulse throbbed in painfully in her ears, she felt lightheaded by the familiarity of it all. She lifted her head and found her wrists and ankles shackled in restraints. There was an IV in her arm, she was dressed in a hospital gown. "What-" she started but she lost the power to speak as Milowsky walked into the room.

"Ms Lassiter. It's a pleasure to see you." he said, as he moved around the room with ease.

"No." Kate said in disbelief.

"Anaemia is a tricking thing. You passed out from panicking. Do you remember?" he asked her as he pulled a syringe with a clear liquid and pumped it into her IV line.

"You're- you can't be here." she said as she felt woozy from her body overrating to his presence; not the drugs.

"The world is still dying but you and your baby hold the key that will save us all. So not to worry, we'll take the very care of you both." He told her, she didn't hear anything else as her world slowly blurred out.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

* * *

"We're approaching what looks to be the school house." Tom said over his comm. Mike had argued that there was no point in sending teams to Paraiso Island when UAV sweep had shown it was burning wreck. The Military base had been destroyed but Tom had wanted to see the carnage for himself. He'd seen the footage and knew Peng's military hadn't had enough to destroy everything. So he was banking on substantial to prove Peng was behind the chemical weapons and attack.

He wasn't taking any chances as everyone in the VBSS teams were geared to the teeth and wore helmets with cameras; taping everything they could see. So far the port was empty and the small settlement looked empty. But the air was thick with smoke and the scent of rust; blood was what his brain interpreted to be. They'd had quickly cleared the area before going through the buildings one by one until they reached the school house.

Tom was at the rear and watched as Sasha took point going into the large building. " _All clear."_ She said over comm. Tom moved up the stairs as Danny came out looking pale as he moved to stand guard. Tom didn't know what to expect but when he walked into the room he felt his stomach revolt, tears burn his eyes.

"My god." He uttered in disbelief and anger; there before him laid over 20 dead bodies. Women and men of all ages, children. Their clothes ragged and their bodies drenched with blood as they'd all been shot where they stood. Anger boiled at him as it wasn't right, these people looked malnourished and poorly treated and now they were dead. He wondered how Peng could even know to burn the place down but then wondered why he'd bother to not destroy the remains of these people.

"The bodies are still warm." Sasha told him, as she was moving through the pile trying to find someone they could save. Wolf and Burk stood at the sides ready to shoot in case it was a trap. Tom didn't know what to do as he looked at the mayhem and then he heard it. A tiny whimpering noise that sounded smothered. It sounded like a small child crying.

"Do you hear that?" Tom asked her as he didn't believe his ears.

"Hello? US Navy, make a sound if you need help." Sasha called out, they followed the noise and pulled the dead bodies to find an old lady curled in a ball around a small child.

The little girl couldn't have been more than two, but she was so small and skinny it was hard to say. Before Tom could caution Sasha; she reached out and touched the old woman's shoulder to move her when the old woman rolled onto her back and held a hand out at them.

" _Please, Please, don't hurt us_!" The old woman begged in Japanese. She looked to be in her 80's, her bony hands clutched the baby to her chest. Her face and the child were strewn in blood and dirt. The child wailed loudly as it was no longer buried under the bodies of the dead. Tom looked to Sasha who had crouched down to them.

" _It's ok, we're not going to harm you_." Sasha told her in Japanese, the woman looked up her in wide eyes as she clutched the child in her arms. " _We're the US Navy. We're here to help."_ She told her, the old woman looked in considerable pain but the briefest glimpse of relief flashed through her face.

" _Take the child. Please you have to save her_." She begged, she tried to lift the child up but she was too weak from blood loss. It was a miracle both of them were still alive.

" _We'll help you both_." Sasha assured her.

" _No, it's too late for me."_ she said before she whispered to the small child " _you're going to be good for Nanna and go with these people, Misato. They will take care of you._ " She said, she pointed to Sasha. Sasha could see now that the child had moved was that the grandmother had gunshot injuries to the lower abdomen and had lost a lot of blood. Much of that blood had stained the little girl's skin, t-shirt and shorts.

Misato looked at Sasha with wide eyes and shook her head trying to burrow back into her grandmother's arms. " _Please, I have to go soon, I love you child."_ The old woman murmured to her. Sasha looked to the older woman.

" _You have my word. I will take care of her. I just need to know what happened_?" Sasha asked her as she grabbed the woman's hand hoping vainly it would keep her alive long enough to ask questions that needed to be asked.

" _Chinese took us from our homes. We made weapons for them. We were slaves. They killed my family_." The old woman said breaking into tears, she ducked her head to hide her grief.

" _I'm so sorry."_ Sasha told her sincerely. The old woman gave a sniff and nodded her head, she reached out and patted Sasha's hand.

" _It's ok, child. I'll be seeing them soon. But I ask you just take care of my baby, she is all I have left_." She said before she gave a groan in pain. Sasha looked to Tom who had quietened the baby down.

" _What's her name_?" Sasha asked she hated this as she had questions to ask but hated there was nothing they could do to save the old lady and let her die peacefully.

" _Please take care of her. She's all that left."_ The old woman said her eyes glittering with fresh tears but these were proud tears. But the joy she felt vanished as her eyes grew glassy. She gave a cry of pain before her features calmed. " _They killed us all, and took the last weapons. You must make them pay for what they did._ " She told Sasha.

" _I promise you we will. Where was the factory?"_ Sasha asked quickly. The old woman gave directions with her very last breath. Sasha blinked back the tears as she released the old woman's hand and placed it gently in the woman's lap. She turned her attention to Misato who was staring at her grandmother. " _Hey, Misato, we have to go."_ she told the little girl.

She gently touched the little girl's shoulder and winced as the girl flinch. Misato ignored her and moved to shake her grandmother awake. The little girl didn't say a word. Sasha looked to Tom but he looked just as tortured as she was. She knew she'd have to do something incredibly horrible. But for now she could use what time they had to try and not traumatise the young girl further.

"She gave me directions. The factory is here on the island where they made the weapons but the Chinese knew we were coming. They destroyed the factory and killed these people." Sasha said as she shoved what emotions raged inside her into a box and closed the lid for later. She pulled her radio to her mouth and called the other teams telling them the location; hoping someone was close by. As it turned out Cruz's team was closest.

"It's probably the building that's burning on the other side of the island." Tom said, the other team was at that site ascertaining the damage and to see if there was anything they could salvage.

"What are we going do? We can't leave them like this." Sasha told him, he wanted to say that they could stop and bury the dead but if Peng scorched the factory then it meant he was going to use the weapons again. He was about to say they didn't have the time when Cruz came over the comm.

"Sir, the factory is clear and the damage was extensive but they didn't clean everything up. There's still evidence here. You need to come check it out." Cruz told him.

"On our way." Tom replied, he looked down at the baby in his arms. She needed to be evacuated back to the ship. He turned to Wolf. "Taylor, I want you and Green to head back to the ship. Get-" he stopped as he realised he didn't know the little girl's name.

"Misato." Sasha supplied. The men nodded acknowledging the order. Wolf came over to Sasha's side and tried to get Misato's attention but she was too distraught trying to wake up her dead grandmother to acknowledge them.

"Misato to the Doc. Burk, you're with us." Tom said to the men.

"Tom, I should go with Misato." Sasha said, her heart breaking for the tiny girl.

"We don't have time." Tom told her, she leaned towards Misato and told the little girl what would happen in Japanese but she was either too young to understand or not coherent enough in her grief to listen. Sasha stepped back and winced as Wolf picked up the girl, Misato immediately started screaming and crying.

* * *

"Are you sure about this doctor?" the nurse asked as she looked over at Kate's prone form. It made her uneasy to have a patient be strapped to a bed and placed into a medically induced coma when she was a healthy woman.

"Yes, Ms Lassiter is mentally unstable. She is dangerous to society and has been known to harm herself. I don't want to risk the unborn child's life given how precious it is. So we will keep her sedated until the child is born." He lied to the nurse. She didn't need to know all the details as Kate wouldn't be here for much longer.

"Yes, Doctor." She said even if she silently didn't agree with him. "But what do we tell the family?" she asked him.

"We tell them that she became aggressive and was put into isolation. No time has been given on when she'll be released." Milowsky said, he moved over to Kate, and smoothed a hand over hair in a soothing manner. He looked at her vitals, glad to see the mix of drugs would keep Kate sedated, it would be monitored at all times. The mistakes of Baltimore would not be repeated.

He would also knew better than to trust the regional leaders which was why he'd made arrangements for Kate to be moved to another location. It would become annoying to split his time between Kate and Rachel, but Kate was the priority. If Rachel's blood work came back as he suspected it would.

He'd then start selecting a new group of women to continue his genetic research. Then push for Rachel to be transferred to his labs for a small but crucial surgery.

* * *

"The missiles are heading to Incheon, Korea." Sasha said going over the information they'd found in the half destroyed factory. There had been spray paint templates left behind in the chaos. It told of where the weapons had gone too and one template of a place that hadn't been hit with the Anti-cure missiles.

She, Tom, Mike, Gator and Takehaya were in the wardroom trying figure out their next move. They needed to stop Peng before he was able to use the biological missiles in his cache. All Sasha could think about was the little girl that had attached herself to Sasha's side like a duckling.

She had returned from Paraiso Island and after signing her weapons back into the Armoury she headed to the infirmary to find that Misato had gone on her own adventure. Misato had returned to ship as a noisy mess with Wolf and Danny, she somehow escaped them and disappeared for twenty minutes. It turned out she had hid in the Helo expecting it to take her home, Jesse being generally unhelpful the Nathan James crew had helped the little girl hide and gave her food and water.

Sasha found the two sharing an orange, even though Jesse didn't know a lick of Japanese. The two seemed to share an easy and non-verbal bond. But upon seeing Sasha the girl came out of the helo and looked to her. Sasha sat down on the ground and tried to explain to the little girl that she wasn't going home. Misato did not understand, it had been heart breaking for Sasha as she knew Misato would realise she was never going to be back with her family again.

When Sasha knew Misato was too young to understand, she and Jesse got the little girl cleaned up and a clean t-shirt that was way too big for her. Doc Rios checked her over and besides being dehydrated and severely malnourished Misato was going to be ok. Sasha tried to get Misato to stay in the infirmary but she refused to stay. Jesse was back out in her Helo and well, Sasha just had a soft spot in her heart for the little girl.

So here they were standing around a map station looking down at an illuminated map. Misato had her tiny fingers clasped on the pocket of Sasha's cargo pants, she held on strong enough for Sasha to know she was there. Takehaya, pale and worn stood at the table separate from them. She knew he was struggling to stand but face made him persevere. But when their backs were turned, he would bend over the table before straightening up in fear of being seen as weak.

"There are several different shipping lanes with varying currents that the Chinese destroyer could've chosen." Gator said he gestured to the map as he explained the best direction they should take and why. "This here... This is used for oil tankers and commercial ships. It runs north from here to the leeward side of Taiwan then splits off after Yonaguni Island. The eastern route goes to Vladivostok and Japan. The western route... that runs straight north to Korea." He finished, Sasha looked to Tom and Mike as they knew better than her what the best move. If this was on land she'd be the one with the best knowledge.

"And you recommend that as our new course?" Tom asked Gator.

"Well, given the limited information we have, Sir, yes." Gator said, Mike looked over to Takehaya for a second opinion.

"Captain, do you concur?" Mike asked Takehaya, Sasha perked up slightly as she wondered when they had started referring to Takehaya but his old naval rank. She looked to the man who stood straighter at the acknowledgement of rank.

"Peng knows you are looking for him. He will use the Formosa Strait between Taiwan and the mainland." He told them, they all moved to the table and looked at the map he had laid on the table.

Misato climbed up into one of the chairs and looked down at the map. Takehaya smiled at her while the others kept neutral expressions at the amusement of the quiet child's presence. "It is more narrow, with more obstacles to hide from the radar. That's where we will find the ship carrying the poison." Takehaya added, he brushed his fingers across the map showing the strait.

"Then that's our new course." Mike said surprising them all.

* * *

"God, this is taking forever." Val said as she watched the bar showing her upload was at 49%, it took a full three minutes for it to turn to 50%. She had written a program to send a high compression data burst. Only problem was that it wasn't effective on dial up internet. Sure she'd cut through a lot of the garbage but the data burst needed to upload to the satellite network before it could sent.

She had compiled everything they'd found on the White House Servers into a file to send to the Nathan James. If they got the message then they would be up to speed on everything they knew. God, how they needed their help; they needed to drop whatever they were doing and come home.

"Can't we make it go faster?" Kara asked as she was edgy as hell now as they'd been in one location for over four hours. They could have been easily tracked by now. If they had been, then their asses were toast.

"No, but it's the last piece. Once it's uploaded then-" Val stopped as they heard the sounds of car engines. They both looked out to the surroundings and saw the lights in the distance. It wasn't fluke chance of a passerby. No, they'd been found.

"Shit, they found us." Kara said as she saw a helo heading their way. They needed to leave-Now.

"Come on!" Val told her computer.

"We need to pack it up now." Kara told her.

"No, if they don't get this message then they won't know what's happening here." Val said as the upload screen ticked to 55%, time until the message was sent to the satellite was indeterminate.

"Ok, you go. You have a back up on a thumb drive right?" Kara asked Val.

"Yes, but-"

"No, go. I'll stay and make sure the message is sent. You go back to the others and tell them to get out. Somewhere I don't know about." Kara told her, she was a sailor, dispensable while Val's skills were still needed by the others. They needed her and Kara could keep whoever was after them at bay for longer.

"I don't know how to drive!" Val told her.

"It's auto, turn the key in the ignition, take off the handbrake and foot on the left of the two pedals." Kara said, she mimicked the hand and foot gestures for her.

"Can't you-" Val started to argue but Kara cut her off.

"No, you're the only one who help the others and get the message out. Now go!" Kara ordered. Val's lips firmed into a fine line for a moment as she hesitated. "GO!" Kara ordered, Val nodded and ran to where they'd parked the car.

Kara looked at the computer, she could no longer hear Val's footfalls in the scrub. She knew it had been a good idea to park far away. All she did now was wait, the upload jumped to 60%. She looked around for something to hide the computer. She raced around the property and broke into the shed and found a car and a tarp. She ran to where the computer sat on the ground and ruffled the tarp over it.

She went back to the car and cracked the bonnet only to find the engine had no battery. Lights flashed up the driveway, she looked over her shoulder and saw the cars pull to a stop at the edge of the property.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

* * *

Two hours later, Val hit the brakes and groaned in pain as her head slammed into the steering wheel setting off the horn. She fucking hated cars. Correction she hated driving. Her arrival did not go unnoticed as Ravit came out with a shotgun ready. Ravit lowered the barrel and raced to the driver's side door just as Val opened it.

"We have pack up everything and to get out of here now." Val told her, not wasting time. She knew Kara wouldn't break under torture but Kara had ordered her to get everyone to safety.

"Where's Kara?" Ravit demanded.

"She was captured. Now let's go!" Val told her.

* * *

Kara woke woozy with a terrible headache, she felt like she'd gone ten rounds and lost. Oh, right, she did. Now she was being dragged under the arms down a hallway of what looked to be an old 50's wooden building. She tried to lift her feet as they slid roughly against the wooden floors, but found her body wouldn't respond.

She looked to her side and her eyes went wide as nurse came out of a room. There through the open door; she saw Kate laying on a bed unconscious. She wanted to go back but the goons dragging her kept moving. They came around a corner and she was dragged into a tiny room.

There inside sat two chairs. One was plain wooden dining table while the other was a wooden chair with restraints. The goons pushed her into chair, she tried to fight but her movements were sluggish and had no effect. They restrained her to the chair. Her head rolled forward as exhaustion got the better of her.

* * *

"So, this is where Chandler's gonna meet our other ships?" Oliver asked as he, Allison and Alex looked down at the map of where CNO was planning his attack to take out Peng's destroyer carrying biological weaponary. They'd been debriefed by Tom and sent copies of reports of what they had found including pictures and audio from a video file of a Japanese woman claiming they were slaves and had been forced to assemble biological weapons for Peng's military. Videos would've been better but their visual communications were still jammed.

"Yes, Sir. In the Formosa Strait. Captain Chandler just radioed in, he's at 22.44 North by 117.86 East." Samantha purposefully changed the coordinates in the hopes that whoever was the mole misheard the first time and assumed her intel was solid because the mole would want to transmit this information directly after this meeting.

"Shackleton's approaching from the north, Hayward from the south-southeast." Samantha said looking to them all. It was Allison or Alex but she couldn't decide if it was one of them or both. But today would be telling. "That's how they'll triangulate and attack the Chinese destroyer." She finished.

"I hope this puts an end to this chapter." Alex said, his assistant whispered in his ear and he gave a nod and left the room. Samantha watched him go and looked to Allison who was on her mobile.

No luck, she looked to Dennis who with Val's help had somehow figured out how to decode the messages chewing up their comms. It was a system that maps every nine-square meter spot on Earth using three random words. The only problem was that Val had gone dark for the last five hours after constant communication. It was unsettling, but she and Dennis preserved on. She asked him to decode the last five coordinates so she could figure out how close their mole was.

* * *

"Hello," a man said, Kara opened her eyes and felt a nauseous and very drunk. She blinked a few times as she had trouble focusing but soon her vision cleared enough to see a man sitting opposite her. "Hi," he said.

"Where am I?" Kara asked, she frowned as she felt like the words rolled out of mouth like lava from a volcano. It was a weird sensation and thoughts to be having.

"You're in Utopia but before we can release you into our province we need to clear a few things up." He told her.

"Utopia." Kara said slowly, she smiled as the word felt funny on her lips. The rational part of her brain nudged the mushy parts reminding her to keep her mouth shut or think of something else.

"Focus." He told her. Her mind cleared for a moment as she looked at the stranger opposite her.

"I'm here." She assured him. "You're here. Who are you?" she asked him.

"No one important and, yes, you are here. Now your friends are missing." He told her.

"Are they?" she asked him confused, she didn't remember them looking lost when she last saw them. She smiled as she knew they weren't lost. This man was lying, which made her wonder why he was asking her questions to begin with. She frowned as she didn't like his nose.

"Yes, where would they go?" he asked her.

"Home." she said with a smile, deciding that his hair looked like pubes. She giggled immaturely as she remembered Danny telling her in length of how Burk shaved his chest because his chest hair looking like curly pubes.

"Where's home?" He asked in a calm and patient manner.

"Where the heart is." She slurred with a drunk giggle.

"Be more specific." he told her.

"I was sleeping, I just remember one thing." Kara said, the man leaned forward with an expecting expression. She starting humming as song passed through her mind before the words popped out of her mouth. "If you see a faded sign at the side of the road that says "15 miles to the Love Shack" ." She sang, tapping her feet and moving her shoulders and her head dancing to the music playing in her mind. "Love Shack, yeah, yeah..I'm heading down the Atlantic highway..." she crooned.

The man sat back looking disappointed as soon as he heard her say 'Love shack'. She stopped singing and frowned at him. "It was playing on the radio." she told him.

* * *

"Hayward's hull-down on the horizon." Mike told Tom as the man arrived on the bridge just time for the showdown.

Mike had a weariness of the whole plan given the MSS had razzed Paraiso to the ground which meant they knew the Nathan James was catching up. He knew taking out this ship would not be the end. They still had to track down Peng and the person who created the weapons to begin with, not to mention a cure needed to be found for the victims of the weapon.

All leading on a never ending cycle of mission to mission; when would it ever end? When would he be able to go home? He pushed the thoughts of Kate and the girls from his mind as he needed to focus on the task at hand but he knew in his bones that he was finished. He needed to hold his children and Kate who needed him more than the Nathan James and crew. He hated to admit it but with Tom on the ship and Andrea as X.O., he was superfluous. But at home, he had his own place, he was needed.

"Let's close the distance. Sea Dragon's out there. We'll have surprise, but not for long." Tom told him.

"O.O.D., all ahead full." Mike ordered, his orders were repeated verbatim and the ship started to move faster through the water. They both looked out the front window, Mike hoped for a positive outcome but his stomach churned with the anticipation of the worst.

 _"Nathan James, this is Shackleton. We have a SKUNK 14 miles out, heading north at 32 knots."_ Captain Hicks said over the comms. Tom and Mike were looking down at the radar screen watching the Chinese vessel as it was in range to be tracked.

"Roger, Shackleton." Garnett said in response.

"Sea Dragon's hauling ass." Mike commented as he took in the information displayed on the screen. They weren't really catching up as quickly as they would've liked. Tom gave him a look of agreement as he picked up the radio receiver.

"Hayward, this is Nathan James. Do you have SKUNK?" Tom asked the Hayward over the comms.

" _Nathan James, I'm looking at the same picture you are. We have the target. Designate ship as hostile_." Captain Meylan responded.

"Set General Quarters." Mike ordered Jeter, the Master Chief moved to the back of the bridge and spoke over the P.A. ordering the ship's condition be set to General Quarters and for all crew to man their battle stations.

"You know what this means... Sinking that destroyer. " Mike told him, the whole part of this mission Mike despised most.

"War." Tom said with no qualms at all at the decision.

"Declared by us." Mike clarified as it was important for them to acknowledge what it meant.

"If it comes down to it, I'll take the heat." Tom told him.

"No, Sir. We'll take it together." Mike corrected him, he might have his own reticence but his loyalty would always be to Tom. He just hoped that it didn't come down to showing that loyalty or losing his life for it.

* * *

Anna frowned as she had an automated voice message on her phone to check her email. She opened her laptop in the small living room and logged into her email. She found an email from Val, she clicked it open and downloaded the attachment. She opened the zip file and her eyes went wide.

"Oh my god." She murmured as she scrolled through about 1/50th of what was in the file when the door to the apartment opened and Tex came in with Kat in his arms. "What happened?" she asked as she closed the computer.

"She's not feeling well, she collapsed in the stair well." Tex said as he laid Kat onto the couch and checked her temperature.

"I'll call a doctor." Anna said as she moved to the phone.

"She's burning up something fierce. She looked a little pale this morning but while we were out she started feeling sick." Tex said.

"This is Hatake, we need a doctor sent to our apartment. Yes, thank you." Anna said as the person on the other end informed it would be a 30 minute wait. She hung up the phone and looked to Tex.

"They'll send a doctor over in the next half an hour." She told him as she moved to sit with him. Kat was feverish, her face was grey as she had a red rash crawling up her neck.

* * *

"The latest stats from Norfolk, Everything is in order as you requested from Major Damon. He said you should pay attention to the most up to date stats. Sir." Dennis said as he passed a file to Samantha. Tension was at an all time high as it had taken longer that Samantha had wanted for Dennis to decode the GPS coordinates. It wasn't his fault as he was doing his best but she had a terrible feeling.

The three comms spewing into the room from the Nathan James, Shackleton and Hayward made her wonder when shit would hit the fan. Everything so far had gone fine but she knew that could change within moments.

"Thank you." Samantha said as she looked at the GPS Coordinates listed on the page inside.

"How far away is the Chinese destroyer?" Allison asked when she strolled back into the office with Oliver. She and the president drew chairs up to Dennis's station in the room where he had a screen showing the comms for the Nathan James, Shackleton and Hayward.

"Oh um, Sir, Ma'am last we heard, it was 15 kilometers from the James, closer to the other ships." Dennis said as he went back to his computer.

 _"This is Hayward. Contact has slight left bearing drift... over."_

 _"This is Shackleton. Hold ES for Sea Dragon, bearing 2-4-5. Recommend Hayward close Sea Dragon. Remain at EMCON."_ Hicks advised from his post on the Shackleton. The chatter continued and Samantha waited for Allison or Alex to turn her way. When they didn't she moved to the map on the wall and looked at the bottom three coordinates.

The first was Shanzai, the second was Paraiso Island. Her stomach bottomed out as the third was for Formosa Strait. She dropped the file on the floor and raced for the radio.

"All ships, STOP! STOP! STOP!" She shouted over the radio but it was too late.A second later chatter exploded with tension as reports came in of the battle.

"This is the Shackleton. We have incoming. Brace for impact! Brace for impact!" Hicks reported a second later "Shackleton hit. Repeat, we've been hit. Report damages to CCS."

It continued as all ships reported damage and requesting cover fire. It was FUBAR and then all three lines went dead. Samantha looked to Allison, Alex and the President. All looked equally shocked and sickened as they'd listened to the deaths of over 600 people.

"We've lost incoming signals from all three ships." Dennis said as he tried to pick up the signals but got nothing. Alex looked at Samantha with suspicion as if it were her fault.

* * *

"CIC, trace incoming missiles. Target land batteries!" Mike order into the phone receiver from his post, the bridge was wrecked as the windows had been blown out. Broken glass littered the floor, blood was splattered across the floor and stations as they all had taken damage. The Shackleton was no longer broadcasting and Mike had just watched the Hayward take a direct hit.

The mission was completely FUBAR and casualties were in the triple digits. The Shackleton for all they knew was sunk and the Hayward was beyond saving from the way the missile strikes had pounded into the vessel. The Nathan James had only been spared the same fate thanks to flares. But the bridge crew were still getting back to their feet and finding their bearings. Mike was lucky he'd ducked below the windows as he'd been spared damage.

" _Solving, sir."_ Alisha said over CIC comms that spewed through the speakers on the bridge. Mike moved to the radar console seeing where the Chinese ship was. Br

"We can't let that Chinese ship get away." Mike shouted to Tom who was staggering to the back of the bridge, he pulled a phone receiver off the helm's station and dialled for CIC.

"T.A.O., you got target coordinates on that SKUNK?" Tom demanded, Mike looked at the radar console waiting for CIC to get into gear as they couldn't survive another strike. There was also the issue of that they'd been attacked from two sources. But they had to sink the Chinese ship. It was nonnegotiable. Hopefully, their next move would sink the ship and the land attack that was most likely targeting them for another strike.

" _Solving now, sir. Stand by."_ Lt Commander Burk told them.

" _T.A.O., track 3-5-8-2-9 designated hostile, standing by to kill with birds_." Granderson said from the CIC.

" _Captain, T.A.O. Standing by for fire orders on SKUNK and land battery."_ Lt Commander Burk told Mike.

"Fire! Fire!" Mike ordered as the missiles were growing closer by the second. Missiles launched into the air from their ship and headed out to their targets. Mike's heart pounded and he was sweating bullets as this was going to be a close call if they made it.

" _Bridge, brace for impact! Port side_." Lt Commander Burk told them. Mike gripped the front of his station with one hand while the other held onto the phone.

"Brace for impact!" he shouted to the bridge crew, they all took their positions. He looked down at the screen watching their missiles fly towards their targets. The sea whizz guns fired out cover spray and the hit the chinese missile. It exploded away from the bridge in a blinding light and wave of heat hit them. The bridge shook from the sound vibrations and then everything grew calm. Mike looked at the screen and watched as all signals bar theirs disappeared.

" _Confirm, SKUNK is trashed. Sea Dragon is sunk. Confirm, land battery trashed_." CIC said over the comm.

"Captain, C.N.O., Shackleton is gone. No longer responding to hails. Not visible on radar. " Gator told Mike, his stomach bottomed out as they might have won the battle but they'd taken heavy losses. There was no real time to lick their wounds as they had a lot of work to get done.

"Get Nomad in the air. Search for survivors. Put rescue and VBSS teams in the water. Save what's left of Hayward." Mike ordered

* * *

" _It's ok, it's ok_." Sasha said in Japanese as she soothed Misato, her and Kaito did not enjoy the fireworks of the guns firing or the explosion that had rocked the hip earlier. Kyoko and Takehaya soothed their son as they leaned back against the wall on the bed with Kaito. Her heart broke for them as they would never be able to have any family moments bare right here and now. Kaito just like Misato would become orphans which was not a great prospect for either child in their society.

The ship grew quiet and the alarms turned off and the P.A. system was still going wild but the voices were tempered and calm. Sasha had meant to go to the bridge but ended up stuck in the infirmary with Misato as she was terrified. Frankly, it seemed Sasha wasn't needed upstairs at all unlike she was in the infirmary.

" _See, all better_." Sasha assured Misato as she smoothed a hand over the girl's head. She sniffled and buried herself deeper into Sasha's arms.

" _Is it over?"_ Kyoko asked, tears ran down her face as she was terrified. Takehaya rubbed his wife's shoulders as Sasha gave her a reassuring smile.

" _When the alarms are off everything is fine."_ Sasha assured her, though she had no clue what was going on. She just hoped no one upstairs was too badly hurt. She would've gone to the bridge to be right in the thick of things but she hadn't wanted to leave Misato's side. The poor child had no one to hold her through whatever was coming their way. The phone on the wall rang, she moved to it and picked up the receiver.

"Infirmary." She answered.

" _Prepare for mass incoming of injuries. Taylor will be there to assist_." Rios' voice said over the line.

"Copy that." Sasha said she hung up the phone and turned to Takehaya and Kyoko. " _Can you take care of Misato, I need to help with the wounded_." She asked them in Japanese.

"Of course." Takehaya replied in English, he held out his arms. Sasha placed Misato on the floor and smiled at her.

" _I need you to be really brave and help Mr Takehaya ok_?" Sasha asked Misato. She shook her head at Sasha and fresh tears filled her eyes. " _Please, I promise I'll be back_." Sasha told her.

" _Little one, have you played Janken_?" he asked Misato, she shook her head. "We'll play it while Sasha is gone and time will pass quickly." He promised her.

" _See, you'll have fun. I'll be back in no time_." Sasha told her, Misato reluctantly released her and stood to the side with her head down and hands behind her back. She was obviously used to being told to stay with other people. Sasha tried not to think on it and smiled at Takehaya. She never thought she'd see him so friendly.

"Thank you." Sasha told him, gave a nod and she rushed out of the room to make sure the Helo bay was ready for influx of injured sailors.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Jacob asked Jed, they had split off from Ravit and Val; deciding it was best to go separate ways and meet up at a small remote gas station in Arkansas in 48 hours to regroup. Jed drove to the only safe place within 5 hours drive of the gas station. It was a small community deep in the forest, completely cut off from the world.

Jed only knew about it because he communicated with an old Army buddy lived there, they communicated monthly via morse code over an ancient Ham radio.

"Of course." Jed told him, he was not nervous at all when men came out of the woods like ghosts as they stood in the car's headlights. They were menacing as they were filthy with wild hair and weapons. Jed turned off the engine and lights. "I'm coming out with my hands up. I'm unarmed." He told the men, he turned to Jacob and said 'Stay in the car."

"No problem." Jacob told him. Jed stepped out of the car with his hands up in the air.

"You shouldn't be here." a familiar voice grouched at Jed. He smiled as he recognised his old friend William Headely, they had served 20 years together before Will had lost his grip on the world. The hazard of their job was that it took a toll on a man's mind and soul. Will had nothing to hold him to the ground like Jed had with Peggy and the kids.

"Didn't have much of a choice. The world has gone to shit. I had to warn you of what's coming and to ask for your help." Jed told him.

"Help?" Will scoffed.

"No one followed me, but I'm sure you've seen the walls going up." Jed said as he lowered his hands taking in the sight of his old friend. He looked like the wild man of Borneo as he hadn't groomed his hair in a long while and his clothes weren't in better shape either.

"We have." Will said, of course he had, they had radios. They may have cut themselves off from the modern world but they kept their ears to the ground just in case trouble was heading their way.

"They've been herding civilians into FEMA camps and Prisons. They took my family, many others I hold dear. We need help." Jed told him.

"We?" Will asked.

"I only got slim pickings with the idiot in the car. Got a soldier and a hacker too." Jed said jutting a thumb at Jacob.

"A what?" Will grouched incredulously.

"Egghead." Jed clarified as he knew Will had been outside of the world a little too long to know what a 'hacker' was. The man had never moved pass a Ham radio technologically speaking.

"Ah, so you want us to help you get them out?" Will asked him.

"Yes, we need every able body. There's a woman in the camps, she's being used for scientific experimentation. After they are through with her, they'll move onto the other families. Just like they did at Edgewell Arsenal." Jed said, he knew it would arch up some willing fighters as the truth of what happened there being repeated again would push them into action.

"What's special about this girl?" Will asked.

"She was a soldier, but during the pandemic they used her as guinea pig to find a cure. The government slaughtered her fellow soldiers in their attempts to find a cure except these soldiers were held against their will. Just as she and many military families are being held hostage now. My son and his men are too far away, those still here are too afraid to fight, too afraid of the variables they can't control. It's why they need us old people. We go unnoticed; we are able to lay down the groundwork. Do recon and know the ins and outs; it'll make their job that much easier when they fight back. They will, they just need to be shown that the odds are in their favour." Jed said imploring Will, he knew his old friend and his soldier were hiding many others in the woods.

"We get left alone when it's over right?" Will asked him.

"Whatever you wish, I'll make it happen. But these people need you, I need you; old friend." Jed implored. Will could see his desperation and gave a nod which was more than an outright 'no'.

"I'll take your request to the others. But Jed, I don't promise anything, some of these old buggers are too cooked to be of help." Will told him.

"I just appreciate you hearing me out." Jed told him.

"Stay here, I'll be back with your answer." Will said, Jed did as he was told and watched as the men disappeared back into the trees with very minimal noise.

* * *

"She doesn't have any allergies or pre-existing medical conditions?" Dr Vellek asked Tex and Anna. He'd taken all of 15 minutes to arrive and if Anna had grilled Tes on everywhere he and Kat had been to see if there was foul play; she'd think Vellek was up to something. But he seemed genuinely concerned than gleeful over Kat's condition.

"No, like I said, she is healthy, no issues at all, she should be ok as she's got the cure in her blood." Tex said as he was trying to make sense of what was going on. His little girl was gravely ill and he wondered what he'd done wrong.

"Have you been boiling your drinking water?" Vellek asked them.

"Yes, the only fresh water that we've come into contact is what comes through the shower and it was raining the last day or so while we were out. Do you think it's the bug?" Tex asked him referring to the bacteria that had infected Japan's environment. It was already confirmed it was a biological attack and no one would be swayed otherwise.

"I do, these symptoms aren't the red flu, it's an auto immune reaction to something here. Are you sure she isn't asthmatic or had any lung issues?" Dr Vellek asked Tex.

"No, she was healthy." Tex said, Anna squeezed his arm in a comforting manner as she could see he was barely holding onto his patience with Dr Vellek.

"She was cured, how?" he asked him.

"With the contagious cure." Tex said with a shake of his head as he wondered how it could be important.

"Not by injection? She breathed in the cure?" Vellek asked for clarification.

"Yes." Tex said.

"Ok, we need to have her moved to the hospital. Her condition has deteriorated rapidly given you said she was completely healthy upon arrival. Did you have the contagious cure?" Vellek asked Tex.

"Yes-"

"No, he has the original cure which he was given a booster shot to become contagious. They also share the same blood type." Anna told Vellek as it could be important. Vellek nodded as he called the hospital and organised transport.

"What's going on?" Tex asked her.

"I don't know but the pirates took cured sailor's blood and it boosted their immune system. It made them stronger, they'll transfer your blood to Kat. It'll boost her body's immunity and I will find a way to help her." Anna promised him, as she couldn't see any other treatment working. There was the exception of Vellek believing the Gene Therapy was a viable cure for the Green Mist.

"Anna, I can't lose her." Tex told her in a low voice. She saw the pain in his features and the desperation of a father not wanting to lose his daughter. She cupped his face with her hands and looked him directly in the eyes.

"You won't, Vellek thinks the answer is in the gene therapy Kate and I had. Avocet and Lassiter Industries have offices here where they made the therapy. I will find it and we'll save her." She promised him.

* * *

"85 confirmed dead, another 23 missing. My God." Captain Meylan said as he followed Tom through the P-way to the wardroom with Mike and Sasha taking up the rear. He was a 6ft 1' African American man in his early 40s, he spoke with a shaken voice as he like the rest of them was still in shock. He had a large gauze strip across the side of his neck covering an injury.

"Search and rescue will continue as long as they have to." Tom assured him.

"Whoever did this, if they know we're still afloat, they will be back." Meylan told them as they entered into the wardroom and closed the door. It was the first time they'd met in person and Tom didn't know what to make of the Captain but knew better than to judge a man who'd lost his ship and majority of his crew. Today was a total loss. They destroyed the weapons but at what cost? They'd lost what remained of the US Navy in less than a day.

"We'll leave no one behind, Captain. You have my word." Mike promised Meylan, the sentiment felt empty to Mike's ears. He was sincere but he knew it would not ease anyone's pain.

"What the hell happened?" Meylan demanded as he wanted answers just as the rest of them did.

"We were set up. We don't know how or by whom, but Peng knew exactly where we'd be and when we'd be there." Sasha speaking up for the first time. She'd helped with the injured that were pulled from the Hayward and their own ship. At least until Tom had motioned for her to come with them. Tom and Mike were a mess or bruises and cuts, their BDUs needed changing but the men carried on as they had no other choice.

"Sir, may I ask, how did we end up at these coordinates? Who sent us here?" Meylan asked looking to them for answers.

"Takehaya." Tom told him.

"The Japanese pirate? The same man who kidnapped and tortured your crew?" Meylan asked incredulously. Tom looked angry as Meylan's outrage as the man looked at them like they had betrayed them all.

"He's not responsible for this. He's with us now, against Peng." Mike explained but he knew how the man felt. But Mike knew Takehaya was with them. He'd lead them straight to the ship but somewhere between when they

"I'm not sure I understand, Sir-" Meylan started but Tom cut him off.

"Captain Slattery will show you to your quarters, brief you on the particulars. I know we lost a lot today, but we prevented a genocide in Korea. We'll take care of our wounded, then we'll finish Peng off for good." Tom said laying down the law.

"Yes, sir." Meylan said quietly as Tom walked away, once the door was closed he looked to Mike and Sasha. "What am I missing here?" he asked them.

* * *

"You knew they were gonna be attacked. I want to know how." Alex told Samantha as he thought he had her cornered but she wasn't scared of him. She looked over her shoulder at him as he towered over her.

"It was just an gut instinct. The way they were being drawn into that pass, perfect set up." Samantha said calmly as she sat next to Dennis waiting for Comms to be re-established. The game of cat and mouse was over she now needed to preserve who had survived the mission's safety and then go to ground herself.

"An instinct?" Alex scoffed in disbelief.

"They've been ambushed before, Sir." Samantha said coolly, Dennis looked at her with wide eyes.

" I have the Nathan James." Dennis told her, he pulled off his head set and handed it to her before Alex could snatch it out of her hands. She wrapped them over her head.

"This is Colonel Nash. Report." She said curtly, not wanting to waste time.

"This is C.N.O. Listen up, 'cause I don't have much time. We were taken by surprise... All three ships. James is seaworthy, Shackleton was sunk, Hayward damaged, and survivors, including Captain Meylan, are now aboard the James." He told her, she heard the anger and mistrust in his voice and she didn't blame him.

"Copy that, I believe our comms have been compromised. I recommend you immediately go to EMCON until further notice." Samantha advised him, she didn't look to Alex to know he wasn't pleased.

" _Agreed, Nathan James out_." Tom said and the line went dead. She handed the headset back to Dennis she turned to Alex who was beet red.

"Was that Captain Chandler?" Oliver asked as he came out his office. He looked beleaguered and angry. Samantha didn't blame him given what had just transgressed in the past few hours.

"He just hung up." Alex told them, Allison and Oliver looked pissed at the news.

"Well?" Oliver asked them, he looked to Samantha.

"The James survived the attack, but we lost the Shackleton, and the Hayward is seriously damaged. Captain Meylan is with the C.N.O.-" Samantha was midway through the update when Oliver cut her off.

"I want to talk to them." Oliver demanded.

"I'm sorry, Sir. But they went to EMCON, they won't answer." Samantha informed him.

"Damn it, why? What happened?" Oliver asked her.

"Sir, they were ambushed. Somehow, the Chinese knew where all of our ships would rendezvous." Samantha explained,

"This is a Goddamn disaster" Oliver explained he walked back into his office but Samantha followed him in. she was about to close the door in Allison's face but the woman was too fast. So Samantha moved in front of Oliver's desk as Allison closed the door behind her.

"Sir, we have a Marine Recon Division. They're scattered, but they could be organized and deployed to Asia. If they flew to Pearl, they could then sail from there to effect a search and rescue of our ships." Samantha suggested.

"That's not gonna happen." Allison told Samantha.

"I'm sorry, did you get promoted?" Samantha asked Allison. She looked to Oliver who sat at his desk with his head in his hands. All the pieces fell into place as it was clear Oliver was not in charge but just a mouth piece for Allison.

"In a manner of speaking," Allison told her, Samantha looked to Oliver who sat in his chair looking defeated.

"What the hell does that mean?" Samantha demanded hotly.

"It means that Chandler's China adventure ends now. You will hail him and order him to break EMCON. You will give him orders from the President that he is to report back to San Diego immediately." Allison told Samantha.

"I don't take orders from you." Samantha told her firmly. Allison gave her a patronising look.

"You're too smart to not see this for what it is. Now, I could order you killed in a moment but you're too bloody noble to appreciate what I'm saying. So I'll clear this up. The public loves you, you are the head of your branch and all those people who serve under you have families and spouses. People, we've rounded up. So you have a choice, you follow our orders like a good soldier or you can choose who we kill first; the children or their parents?" Allison asked her.

"They still won't listen to me. You need to send an encrypted communiqué to the ship in the President's name." Samantha told her, she conceded to Allison's wishes as she would not be responsible for the deaths of innocent people. But even though she was colluding for now, it didn't mean she couldn't undermine whoever Allison was working for from inside the office.

"Good choice, you've taken your first step into the birth of a new America. The pandemic, the millions of deaths, the complete collapse of law and order demands a revolution of governance."

"Revolution? You mean a coup. Who are you working with? Castillo?" Samantha asked snidely as she might have surrendered but she wasn't going in blind. She needed to know who her enemies were.

"Castillo, Price, Wilson, Croft. America can no longer be governed by a central power, not now. Each region must look after itself.

"Democracy is a luxury that we can no longer afford?" Samantha asked mockingly but Allison looked deadly serious.

"Exactly." She replied, she moved to the door that lead to the hallway and two security guards stepped in.

"Now what?" Samantha asked her.

"You'll return to your office and wait for us to need you. These men will look after you, and know we will be monitoring you very closely." Allison told her.

* * *

"Here we are." Lt Sagara asked Anna as he pulled the car to a stop in front of Avocet building in downtown Tokyo. He was SDF officer in his mid thirties who lucked out being naturally immune like the small percentage of civilians who were littered across the country. Anna looked out the car window and opened the door.

"So how does this work?" he asked as they walked upto the building. The streets were eerily quiet as no one lived in the cities anymore as they spread out to the country where food could be grown and some were just lost to their grief that they wandered aimlessly waiting to die.

"There should be a biometrics scanner that I can access." She told him, as they walked the perimeter of the building. "Are we going to have any problems?" she asked him.

"No, Tokyo's a ghost city." Sagara told her.

"Good, ah- here we go." Anna said as they went to the back door. There was a panel that stood out on the side. She slid into down and a flat screen lit up requesting a palm scan.

"You shouldn't have power." He remarked.

"Offices have solar panels and backup generators. Let's just hope I'm still recognised." Anna told him. She placed her hand on the screen, it scanned her hand a then blinkered green before welcoming her in. The door buzzed and Anna pushed it open, Sagara took point as he was armed. The offices were immaculate, it was like it was waiting for everyone to come back from their weekend.

"Where do we go?" Sagara asked.

"Vellek said the labs were on the level three." Anna said as she moved to the fire escape. She would've preferred the elevator but last thing they needed was to get stuck inside it as no one would be able to access the building to save them.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

* * *

Mike sat at the wardroom table watching as Sasha supervised Misato. Bacon had gone above and beyond for the kid making sure she had a bowl of very plain food.

It was a small bowl plain rice with small cut up pieces of vegetables and chicken schnitzel. There was a plate on the side with different types of sauce. The rest of them were on rations.

Mike and Tom decided that Misato and Kyoko were the only ones without restrictions due to Kyoko needing proper meals to feed Kaito. Misato was malnourished. The two needed proper meals and Mike knew they'd find supplies before things became dire.

Misato had to kneel on the chair to reach the food. She wore a 'Navy' t-shirt that swamped on her, and her short hair was tied into two pigtails. She reminded him so much of Zoe and Maddy when they were smaller. She also reminded him of the fact that he was going to be a father again to his and Kate's child. Fantasies of a redheaded daughter played through his mind. It made him ache for home.

"Yum?" Sasha asked Misato. She repeated it in Japanese and the little girl nodded as she grabbed a handful of rice and proceeded to slowly and messily shove it into her mouth. She looked to Sasha while she chewed and pushed some of the food Sasha's way as if silently offering to share.

Mike smiled in amusement as Sasha said something to girl in Japanese and then made a face as she mimicked a full stomach. A lie given how little they actually were eating but they'd all survive.

* * *

"Without my laptop, I can't do much." Val told Ravit as they had been driving seemingly aimless for the last couple of hours.

"We'll get you another… from somewhere. Did the message get to the Nathan James?" Ravit asked her, they hadn't had the time to cover everything that happened. Only that Kara had been caught and they had needed to branch out for help. The problem was that Ravit didn't know anyone to drive to for help. She had no friends outside of the Nathan James.

"I don't know. I doubt it." Val said. Ravit cursed under her breath. "But we have the thumb drive so we can try again." Val added.

"Can you think of anyone that might help us?" Ravit asked her.

"No," Val confessed, showing the truth of her own life as she didn't have anyone out of the same social circles as Ravit.

* * *

" _It's completely empty; I thought your people would have stayed to protect the research._ " Sagara commented as they had cleared the floor and found no one on the third floor. Anna double checked the logs and it showed the building was empty, all the staff had left over a year ago. No one had entered the building before today.

" _It's good for us as it means everything we need should be here_." Anna said as she stood in front of a computer and searched the system for the gene therapy research and where the physical work was being kept. It seemed that Avocet in Japan had been working on many genetic studies.

" _What are we looking for?_ " Sagara asked.

" _Gene therapy that gives non-immunes a better chance at survival. Found it_." she said, she pulled a thumb drive from her pocket and plugged into the computer. She started the download of information and looked over to the enclosed labs.

" _So, not a cure?_ " Sagara stated.

" _No, but it's better than nothing_." Anna told him.

" _True, will my family be able to use it?_ " he asked her, Anna looked to him.

" _Your family isn't immune?_ " She asked him as she moved past the labs until she found the one she was looking for.

" _No, I'm the freak of the family._ " Sagara said looking ashamed that he was immune. Anna felt for him as she knew the shame that fell onto their people when they were unable to help their loved ones.

" _Hopefully this research will help Dr Vellek and the people at the hospitals_." She told him, before she keyed in an override code to the lab. The door buzzed and lock opened, she pulled the door open and stepped into the space; leaving Sagara outside.

It was cramped and she had no clue what she was looking at exactly; but luckily she only needed to find the vials with a particular code. She opened the fridge and smiled as she found over 20 vials with the code she need. She found a cooler bag folded up beside the fridge and carefully placed the vials inside with a cold gel pack. She pulled a second gel pack and wrapped it around one of the vials. She looked to Sagara who was turned away and quickly smuggled the vial into her jacket pocket.

* * *

"Nanna, where's Kate?" Maddy asked as Kate had been gone all night.

"I don't know, but I'll find out while you're at preschool. But I'm sure she's ok." Lena said casually but really, she was scared. She had a terrible dream about Kate being taken away and never coming back. It had been so unsettling that she hadn't been able to shake it off.

"Maybe she got sick and the doctors needed to make her better." Zoe said as she ate a spoonful of oatmeal.

"Maybe," Lena said as she picked a fussy Frankie up out of her bouncy chair and kissed the girl's cheek before settling her on her hip. Frankie rested her head on Lena's shoulder and settled down; obviously she just needed some cuddling. Lena, knew she was not going to be able to take care of the three girls and Scout alone while looking for Kate. "So are you happy about going to school?" she asked them.

"Yeah!" Zoe cheered, the little girl loved preschool as all the kids seemed to be on the same page of having military parents and the preschool was fairly new. The careers were very big on letting the kids run around free range. Maddy even seemed to look happy to go to the school. Not that she said as much as she was concerned for Kate. But Lena was glad something about Utopia was as advertised.

But even so, she felt there was a seedy underside to the place. She knew this place came with a hefty price tag; the obedience of the Military service members.

"Can I take Scout to school today?" Zoe asked.

"No, he has to stay home today." Lena told her.

"Why?" Zoe asked.

"Because your friends exhausted him and he needs time to rest." Lena said, Scout was snoring on the floor next to lounge where Kate usually slept. He'd stayed up all night waiting for her to return.

"Oh, ok." Zoe replied not pleased but she understood.

* * *

"Did you find it?" Dr Vellek asked Anna as she and Sagara came into his lab. They had broken the speed limit to get back to the hospital.

"Yes, how is Kathleen?" Anna asked him as she and Sagara placed everything from the lab they'd found onto one of the spare tables in the room. They figured it would help Vellek start producing more of the gene therapy.

"Who?" Vellek asked as he was distracted by what she and Sagara brought in.

"The American girl who is sick but not from the virus?" Anna prompted him, he made a face and waved a dismissive hand at her.

"Oh, yes, her condition is deteriorating rapidly." He informed her.

"Then treat her first. There are 19 vials and you have the research and this is everything from the lab. So you can start developing more." Anna told him. He looked at her incredulously and shook his head.

"The gene therapy needs to be adjusted before it can be administered." Dr Vellek told her, Anna's eyes narrowed at him as he'd made it clear it would work in its original form. Now the story was changing.

"Adjusted, my ass. I know forty people who survived the dodgy versions of the same gene therapy trial only to watch them be slaughtered by scientists. So how dare you patronise me now." She told him in a chilling tone.

"Listen the treatment could kill her in its current state. That is no lie." Vellek told her.

"You know, I've met many shysters in my time Dr Vellek. You told me, this would work and now you're saying otherwise. So you better make up your mind and tell me what the fuck you're on about. Why are you really here? because I don't think you're here to help, I think you're here to study these people. If that's true, then you're in for a world of hurt." Anna promised him.

"It's not true." Vellek told her.

"Then tell me the truth." Anna told him, she didn't need a weapon as she knew how to menacing just with a look and her tone.

"I created the weapon." Vellek told her, Anna looked at him incredulously.

"What?" She asked as she hadn't expected him to say what he had.

"6 years ago, I worked for a think tank for Lassiter Industries. We talked of hypothetical end game scenarios including the event of intentional pandemics, World Wars, genocide and how it could happen, how one populous could benefit from it. What were the best ways to reshape the world, the general consensus was that the population was too big. There were too many people, too many governments in a world that was suffering from limited resources. We spoke theoretically,-"

"Are you saying the virus was some kind of attack?" Anna asked.

"No, just mother nature. But I once with my colleagues discussed the most efficient ways to wipe out populations. It was all theories but based in science. I came up with the idea of a weapon that introduced a toxic bacteria into an environment poisoning the food and water. I even specified the type of bacteria as a proof of concept- I never thought someone would create it. So, I came here to investigate." Vellek told her.

"You came with the supplies the immunes sent. You're here to see the results of your work." Anna stated, unsure of whether to trust the man or not. She did know if the Japanese Government learnt about his involvement that Dr Vellek would be in a lot of trouble.

"Yes and No." Vellek said.

"Which is it?" Anna demanded.

"The Immunes only care that immunes here are safe and well fed before they are welcomed into the flock. It's such bullshit. No one is chosen by a higher power to survive. Using a biological weapon to usurp God's selection process is hypocritical. Especially given immunity is just evolution and genetics." Vellek scoffed. "I want to help these people, my work was theoretical. It was never supposed to be used in the real world." he added looking incredibly pained.

"Then why are you against the gene therapy?" Anna asked him.

"Because you look at it as a cure when it isn't. It's untested, at best it might boost their immunity enough to fight off the bacteria and the virus but it doesn't mean it will save them. Then there are the side effects which you and many of the others suffered." Vellek told her.

"I was damaged before the gene therapy but that doesn't mean that the symptoms I suffer now are a result of gene therapy was the latest version. It's got to be better than it's predecessors." Anna argued.

"It's still untested." Vellek told her.

"We don't have the luxury of waiting for you to run tests and longitudinal studies to make sure it's safe. People are dying now, they can't wait. I can't wait." Anna told him firmly as she pulled out the vial she had kept for Kat and left the room. Vellek and Sagara were hot on her heels as she demanded to know where Kat was. The staff answered immediately as they knew better than to stand in her way. She found them in a ward with other sick patients. Tex sat by Kat's bedside; holding his daughter's hand.

"Anna." Tex called in surprise. She walked over to a supply cabinet and pulled out a syringe, needle and alcohol swab. She moved to Kat's bedside, she was ghostly pale, dark circles under eyes. Her skin covered in a heavy sheen of sweat as she struggled to breathe. She had an oxygen mask on but it didn't seem to do much.

"Ms Hatake, please don't do this." Vellek told her, he'd been arguing with her all the way though she hadn't replied to him. She trusted Avocet, she trusted this to work as years of R&D and guinea pig tests of innocent humans told her it worked. "I know you think that a large dose will fix her but it doesn't work like that." Vellek told her.

"Maybe, but I know for a fact it only takes 10mls and if her condition improves within an hour. It proves it works." Anna said as she assembled the syringe and pulled 10mls of the clear liquid from the vial. She looked to Tex. "It's next generation gene therapy for the Military. It's the next evolution of the same therapy Kate had. One shot is all she needs." She told him, she'd skimmed the notes to know the scientist on the research believed it to work as so.

"Do it." Tex said, Anna swabbed Kat's arm and injected her with the serum; much to the objection of Vellek.

"You foolish woman." Vellek told Anna.

"She was dying either way." Anna told Vellek before she turned to Sagara " _Lt Sagara, I suggest you secure the other vials until we know for sure that it works. Put Vellek under guard_." Anna said in Japanese, Vellek threw his hands up in the air and walked away. The others all stared in disbelief of what had happened. Sagara gave a nod walking after Vellek to make sure the man was not against them.

Anna moved to Tex's side. He pulled her into arms. "It's the only chance she has." Anna told him as he felt him bury his face in her neck. She tightened her arms around him; hoping that she hadn't made a huge mistake.

* * *

"I was a plankholder. Did you know that?" Meylan asked Tom as they stood on the west bridge balcony. What was left of the Hayward was slowly sinking at a safe distance from the Nathan James. Tom felt foe the man as Meylan was in grief not just for the men and women he'd lost today but also for the ship.

"No. I don't believe I did." Tom said, it wasn't in the file but then Tom had been focused on the man's service record of the past 5 years. It made sense to why Meylan looked so utterly destroyed.

"I watched her being built. Those my windows?" Meylan asked as crewmen worked inside to replaced the windows that had been destroyed during their last conflict.

"Yeah. We took everything we could use." Tom said, he couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a ship under his captaincy. He knew he'd be gutted if the Nathan James had been in the Hayward's position.

"Like donating your kid's eyes after a car crash." Meylan remarked. Tom felt like giving the man his condolences but knew it would come off as empty and frankly, not enough to assuage Meylan's emotional state. The burden of command weighing heavily on them as none of them could show what they really felt, they had to keep it locked up inside, they needed to be a united front for the crew.

"The man Team's clear of the vessel. Charges have been set and rigged to ensure maximum damage to any sensitive technical equipment." Mike said as he joined them on the balcony. He handed the detonation switch to Meylan. "Ready to proceed. Captain Meylan, switch is hot." He told Meylan.

Meylan briefly looked down at the switch, know it had to be pushed but conflicted as he felt like he was turning the life support off of a loved one. He just couldn't do it, so instead he looked straight ahead and kept his hands behind his back. Anger and frustration as this was not how he wanted his command to end, it wasn't how the Hayward deserved to go down.

Tom noticed that Meylan wasn't moving to take the detonation switch so he took it from Mike. The ship had to be destroyed. "Thank you, Captain Slattery." Tom said, all three looked out to the Hayward. He cleared his throat as it was a lot harder than he thought to push the button, but he did.

Seconds later, the Hayward destroyed but several controlled explosions. They stood and watched as the ship slowly sunk into the sea groaning in pain as the metal distorted in the heat and sunk into the cold water.

* * *

"This morning, I signed Executive Order 10842. This order eases restrictions on the federal ration card mandate, provides more local control over banking issues, and temporarily suspends the private property claw back regulations, as set forth my predecessor. Details can be found in your briefing packets, regarding the affected territories." Oliver said, Samantha stood in the background with a neutral expression.

She watched the confusion as all of Michener's work had been rolled back. Allison stood smugly beside Oliver, clearly enjoying her power as the reporters scrambled for answers.

"Mr. President. Mr. President." They all asked looking for some answers but Oliver ignored them as he continued reading the script he was given by Allison.

"In addition, I have promoted the Army National Guard to active status and placed them under the control of local leadership in a bid to quell continued riots in the Five Territories." Oliver said,

"Mr. President, you've been in office for 48 hours now. How do you account for the immediate rollback of President Michener's policies?"

"How do I account for it?" Oliver asked in annoyed manner, it was the first sign of insubordination Samantha had seen in the man but wondered if it was just for show. But before Oliver could continue, Allison smoothly slid in front of Oliver as Secret Service pulled him away.

"I'm sorry, but the President will not be taking any questions today. Thank you," She told them, she pointed to one of the reporters.

"Ms. Shaw, can you tell us if we can expect a further shift in agenda from this White House?" the reporter asked.

"President Oliver is his own man, but the agenda remains the same; building a stronger and better America. On that note and due to the President's increasingly demanding schedule, we'll be discontinuing these daily addresses and replacing them with weekly briefings administered by my office. Thank you very much. That's a lid on today." Allison said cutting the reporters off before she turned and left.

Samantha followed her back inside the old court house despising every step but knowing she would be more effective on the inside than on the out.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

* * *

"So the plan is just to hold position until Peng rears his head? " X.O. Cobb asked as she and Captain Meylan's senior leadership sat on one side of the wardroom table while Nathan James senior leadership took up the other side. Mike stood at the head of the table unable to sit as he was restless.

"Obviously, that's impossible. Now that search and rescue is complete, we need to keep moving. " Andrea told them as she took her seat between Tom and Jeter at the table.

"Then what's on the table?" Cobb asked, Mike was impressed with the young woman's moxie. It reminded him a little of himself. The vibes he got from the Hayward side of the table were reminiscent of the early days when Mike and the crew learned about the Pandemic and were trying to decide what to do.

The mistrust, frustration and anger were clear to read and frankly understandable. Anyone who hadn't served time in Tom's command had a tough time understanding that when Tom got a bug up his ass about something, he tended to stick to his course come hell or high water. It was the kind of command style that had save the Nathan James and allowed them to come home to America with a cure.

"We're exploring several potential options, but we have to... " Andrea started but Meylan cut her off.

"Options? There's only one option I can see. We need to go home." Meylan argued, Tom's expression turned stony as he wasn't listening. Mike wanted to go home but even he knew that tracking Peng down and destroying these weapons were important.

Peng needed to be held accountable; they needed to know who developed the biological weapon. If they didn't then it would be for naught and America as well as many other countries could be at risk. Lt Bell was just an example that showed that even those who were exposed to the cure weren't immune to the effects of this insidious weapon.

"It's not that simple, Captain." Tom told Meylan. The door to the wardroom opened and Alisha strode in with a file. She held it out to him.

"Excuse me, Captain. SSES intercepted these communications from the Chinese destroyer Sea Dragon." She informed him, Mike took the folder and opened it up to look at a page of numbers that made no sense to him.

"The one we sunk? It's all coded." Mike said to Alisha.

"Yes, but it's likely the cipher is still aboard the vessel." Alisha told him.

"At the bottom of the South China Sea? " he asked sceptically.

"Yes, sir. If we could send a team down to retrieve it..." Alisha started but Meylan being a Debbie Downer interrupted her.

"Come on. This is ridiculous. Sir... Peng could be anywhere right now. We don't have the fuel to wait him out. Our medical stocks are depleted, and in 72 hours, we won't be able to feed our people. " He argued, it was a valid point and they all knew they'd have to find a station to refuel and resupply in the near future.

"We'll find replenishments. We always do." Tom assured him, not budging an inch.

"As I understand it, you've already shut down Peng's factory. You've cut off his smuggling operation and destroyed the ship carrying the last of his chemical weapons. What more is there?" Meylan asked sceptical as to why they were all talking about this to begin with. Tom took a deep breath and straightened his back as he gave Meylan a dark stare.

"As long as Peng is breathing, he's a threat to the region and to the world. If we don't stop him, he'll just set up a new factory and start the genocide all over again." Tom told him, Meylan leaned forward with an imploring expression as if he could talk sense to Tom but it wouldn't work. They sunk the ship but Peng kept winning at the larger battle.

"Say we could get a lock on his position. The man still has two destroyers that we know of, and most likely a sizeable army. We've already lost Hayward and Shackleton, along with the lives of 300 American sailors. Even if we could take down Peng, what's to say someone else won't rise up and take his place the minute we leave the region? I'm sure I don't have to remind you that there are a lot of other people in this world who could use our help, and we are wasting our resources fighting what might be an unwinnable battle 10,000 miles away from home." Meylan told him.

"We need to finish the job we were sent here to do. That means cutting the head off the snake. This mission was approved by the Commander in Chief." Tom told Meylan firmly, like Mike earlier surmised, Tom wasn't going to let this go.

"But the circumstances have changed. We need to talk this over with the President." Meylan implored.

"We're at EMCON, Captain. Until I can be assured that we have a secure line home, nothing changes." Tom told him, he looked to Alisha. "Have Lieutenant Green form a dive team. Search that destroyer. Find the cipher." He ordered, the conversation was over and for some reason it all felt like a farce for the Hayward crew to help them feel included as everything they said had been disregarded.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Alisha said as she left the room to carry out his orders. Mike looked to Meylan who didn't look happy at all. He wondered if Tom realised the potential problem of excluding Meylan. But Mike had a ship to run, not to smooth over hurt egos.

* * *

"Hi," Lena said with a warm smile as she stood at the reception desk of the medical centre in Utopia. It was a 50's half circle Army shed with wooden floors and interior with curtain partitions to give patients perceived privacy. She was half tempted to just snoop but saw that majority of the bed were empty. Those that were filled… did not include Kate.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The Nurse asked with a warm friendly manner.

"I'm looking for Kathryn Lassiter. She was brought in last night." Lena said to her. The woman frowned as she checked her tablet computer for the information. It made Lena wonder if there was a secret medical centre hidden somewhere on the base given the woman just had to look over her shoulder to see Kate wasn't there.

"Let me see, it says here that she was put into isolation for 72 hour psychiatric evaluation." The Nurse told her. Lena blinked in surprise at the information.

"Why?" Lena asked.

"I'm not allowed to disclose that information." The Nurse told her.

"May I speak with the doctor who treated her?" Lena asked.

"Your name?" The Nurse asked.

"Lena Slattery." Lena said. The Nurse typed it into her computer and obviously it bounced back an answer she didn't like as she gave Lena an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, but the Doctor cannot speak to you in regards to Ms Lassiter as you're not listed as family or next of kin." The Nurse told her.

"She's married to my son." Lena offered.

"Not according to our files. I'm sorry but I just can't help you." She told her.

"Ok, well thank you anyway." Lena told her.

"Anytime, you take care now." The Nurse told her. Lena nodded and walked away from the desk and out into day.

* * *

Kara slowly came too, she felt like she had overslept which left her head feeling heavy and her body sluggish. Her face and ribs ached dully reminding her that she'd been in a fight. She peeled her eyes open and frowned as the room swam into view. It looked like a small trailer home but the interior was magazine level of stylish. There in the tiny kitchen was her mother.

Kara pushed up from where she was laying and saw it was a L-shaped built in sofa. The sun was shining and the air warm, the scent of bacon and eggs filled her senses as her stomach growled in hunger. How did she get here? She looked down at her clothes and crinkled her nose as they stunk of sweat and dirt. Where had she'd been?

The last thinks she remembered was sitting with Kate and Lena in their lounge room. Lena telling her about how she'd walked off the job naked. Shame sank through her as she remembered how she'd quit her job, but she brushed it off as she knew in herself something was wrong.

"Good, you're awake." her mother said as she plated up the food.

"Where's Frankie?" Kara asked as she gave a yawn. She looked around the small space where there was no sign of her daughter. "How did I get here?" she asked her mother as something was

"I have no idea. They call it 'Utopia', but really it's hell on earth surrounded by military families." Debbie told her as he came over to her. Her mother looked tired and resigned. It usually wasn't good to be around her when she was in this state as a drinking episode was on the horizon.

"Why hell? Besides the temperature." Kara said, she pulled off her jacket cringing at how bad she smelled. She made a note to shower after she ate breakfast and found Frankie. Maybe the food would settle her stomach.

"No liquor. Drying out isn't easy." Debbie said wryly as she gave Kara a plate.

"Ah, how long have you been here?" Kara asked as she placed the plate in her lap and took the cutlery Debbie passed her after the older woman took a seat on the couch.

"Long enough to want to go home. Your daughter is safe with your friends. 5 houses down from here." Debbie told her with a sigh. Kara had a feeling Debbie hadn't bothered to see her, it hurt Kara that her mother wasn't in Frankie's or her life. That even here it was a choice and her Mother hadn't bothered to see Frankie. "Ketchup?" she offered.

"Thanks." Kara mumbled, unsure as she took the sauce bottle. She was riddled with questions but her relationship with her mother was incredibly strained. Kara wished they could push past it but how her mother chose alcohol over her still stung.

"The guards brought you here a couple of hours ago. They said you were in a car accident, but you look like you've been in a fight." Debbie remarked drily, like the idea was repugnant to her. Kara was hurt that after the months that had passed her Mother hadn't changed her mind.

"I can't remember." Kara said, she wished she could but she had no idea what was going on. But she knew she should which was annoying.

"They said you wouldn't. I guess alcoholism is a heredity disease after all. Just like poor life decisions." Debbie remarked.

"I really don't want to get into this." Kara said, she placed the plate of food on the table; unable to stomach it.

"I'm not going to apologise anymore." Debbie told her, firmly. "I'm tired of it." she said in a resigned manner.

"I know, I'm tired of fighting for you and fighting with you." Kara told her, saddened that she felt defeated by her own mother when they were supposed to fight for one another. "I have tried for years, Mom. I have done everything I can think of to help you. I- I want you in my life. I want my daughter to know you, you sober." Kara added.

"You make it sound like it's a choice." Debbie told her, there was a hostile note to her tone.

"It is, not an easy one either as we both know from experience. I'm going to find my daughter." Kara said deflated as nothing would ever change between them. Debbie didn't even ask her to stay as she walked out the trailer.

Kara just walked, tears slipped down her face as she hate the irreparable damage of her relationship with her mother. But also that her brain felt like it was made of gum.

She looked around noticing the uniformed homes and the large fences with guard stations. This was Utopia? Something unstuck from her brain as she realised this was the camp that Val had found. This was where the Nathan James families and love ones were being held. Her heart jumped into her throat as she thought of Frankie again. She picked up her steps and counted the houses until she found herself staring in disbelief. There in the shade of one of the trailer homes was Lena, Rachel, the twins, Scout but her eyes were for her daughter.

There in Lena's lap was her baby girl. She moved towards them happy tears in her eyes. Rachel and Lena saw her; their eyes wide in surprise. Scout barked happily but Kara went straight to Frankie. Lena passed her up and Kara pulled her daughter into her arms. She couldn't smother the sob of relief as she was holding her daughter. She closed her eyes and drank in the feel of her daughter, and her pudgy arms that latched onto her clothes. Kara pulled back and peppered Frankie's face with kisses.

She chuckled as Frankie sneezed and then smiled at Kara. "Oh my baby girl," Kara murmured with a sigh, she looked to Rachel and Lena. "Thank you." she told them.

* * *

Samantha sat in the chair next to Dennis' station but she faced outwards watching as Allison and the Regional leaders bickered like children about territorial disputes and the issue of Tom Chandler still being out there.

"Val sent me some new info today." Dennis said in a low voice. Samantha slid a look his way. She appreciated him staying on top of everything but now was not the time to discuss it. But she also knew they couldn't ignore the intel.

"At some point, Allison is going to want you to send an encrypted communiqué to order the Nathan James to return to San Diego. Can you send it at the same time?" Samantha asked him.

"I can, but don't you want a copy?" he asked her.

"I'm a prisoner here. I'm not entirely sure what I can do but at the moment the Nathan James is operating with very little information. They need it more than us. So send it on." Samantha told him.

"Ok, but what about Norfolk?" Dennis asked, Samantha shook her head as she knew the truth. The military's families were being held ransom, even if Val had the information and could decimate it to all the branches of military. They were spread too thin and overworked to organise anything on the sly to gain back all the families at once. No, they'd fail and right now there was no such thing as acceptable losses at the moment.

"No, they'll question your loyalty and I'm not sure how much I can trust the others given they are held hostage as we are. When they ask what we spoke about. You tell them that I tried to convince you to contact Major Damon but you refused." Samantha said in a low voice as Allison came over to them with a suspicious expression.

"What are you talking about?" She asked them.

"I'm trying to convince Dennis to tank your servers. Just for fun." Samantha said mockingly, she was completely frozen from the networks and outside communications. Even if she could call out, all her calls would be monitored.

"Dennis?" Allison asked.

"Ma'am, I wasn't going to do anything she said without your permission." Dennis said nervously, his unease seemed to please Allison as if it showed his respect for her power.

"Good, Colonel Nash, try to remember that I handpicked everyone in this office." Allison told her.

"I have to admit, I'm really enjoying the show especially where Alex is your bitch." Samantha said with a mocking grin..

"I am not-" Alex started but Allison silenced him with holding her finger up at him.

"Don't be provoked by her." Allison told Alex.

"Yeah, bend over and take it like a real man Alex." Samantha said with a wink at him. Alex blushed a deep red at being insulted but kept to Allison's orders. It just went to show who was really in charge.

* * *

"Tom, this is a lousy deal." Sasha said in a low voice as they walked to meet up with Japanese Pirates were currently climbing onto the ship. Mike had spoken to Takehaya a few hours ago and organised him to make contact with his friends. It hadn't been the best conversation to find out that Takehaya's men had the cipher what's worse was the price they asked. Tom would pay it, but it did chaff to be dealing with pirates as it just blurred the lines of the mission.

"Doesn't matter, as long as we get Peng." Tom told her, the goal in his mind. Once Peng was out of the picture many people including himself could sleep a little easier. He looked around noting that Sasha's shadow wasn't with them. "Where's Misato?" he asked.

"Sleeping in my quarters. Jesse's looking out for her." Sasha told him. Tom quirked an eyebrow as he was surprised that Jesse would look after a kid voluntarily.

"You know you can't keep her." Tom told her.

"I think that's down to me and the Japanese Government. Not you, but I do agree that she shouldn't stay on the ship given you have a bug up your ass about Peng." Sasha pointed out.

"He's dangerous and needs to be taken out." Tom argued.

"Tom,-" Sasha started but he stopped in her tracks and looked at her with a suspicious expression.

"Are you with me or Meylan?" He asked her, cutting to the chase. He felt the ruffled feathers of the crew and the Hayward crew being displeased with him. The heavy losses and having to broker a deal with pirates rubbed them all the wrong way. He was starting to feel as though maybe Meylan was right that there were people in his leadership that didn't trust him.

"You." Sasha said without hesitation. He should have felt relief but instead he was angry that he had to ask to begin with.

"Then don't question me." he told her bluntly before he walked on, she pressed her lips into a firm line and followed him. They pushed through the crowd that had formed to find Takehaya shaking hands with one of the six pirates.

She was only there to make sure the conversation would stay on topic and to trust Takehaya wouldn't betray them. She already knew the man wouldn't, he was too in love with his wife and son to do anything to jeopardise their lives.

"Did you find the decoder?" Tom asked the leader Shirahama, the man stood to the front while his crew stood behind him armed and ready to defend themselves.

"Decoder wa mitsuketa?" Sasha translated for the pirates. The leader looked at her and then tom before he spoke smoothly like a man in complete control. He spoke politely but his message was clear. They would have to pay more for the cipher. Sasha argued with him to keep to the agreed but he made his stance clear. She turned to Tom. "He's saying that was only a finder's fee. If you wanna purchase the cipher, it's gonna cost double the rations." Sasha told Tom.

"We barely have enough food to feed our own crew. That's not gonna work for us." Tom said, Sasha wished he hadn't said that as the pirates most likely spoke English and frankly they didn't seem to care. In fact they felt threatened as they rose their weapons ready to fight.

Takehaya looked to Tom and Sasha imploringly. "Please, let me talk to him." he said to them. Tom gave a nod and Takehaya turned to leader. He spoke in rapid Japanese, Sasha listened as Takehaya explained that the Navy were going after Peng for the genocide of their people. They needed the cipher to do so, they would avenge the loss of their loved one, they proved their fortitude. Lau Hu was dead, now Shirahama's brother could finally rest in peace.

"What'd he say?" Tom asked Sasha.

"Lau Hu killed Shirahama's brother." Sasha said to him, she was going to explain the rest but Takehaya and Shirahama came to an agreement. While they wouldn't hand the cipher over for free due their own need for supplies they had dropped the price.

"You have a deal at the original price." Takehaya told Tom. Shirahama held out his hand to Tom, he stepped forward and shook on the deal.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

* * *

"Am I hallucinating or is she getting better?" Tex asked Anna, it had been the longest hours of his life. Anna sat with him, she was gnawing on her thumb knuckle watching Kat's condition waiting for signs of deterioration. Something to show things were going pear shape. But so far, Kat's condition had plateau-ed. She hadn't gotten worse but she wasn't a shining beacon of health either.

Anna called a doctor over to assess Kat, she needed a professional to make a judgement as she wasn't ready to say anything. She was just glad Kat was still breathing. The doctor went through a checklist as he looked Kat over.

" _Her breathing in better, temperature is lowering. I believe she recovering, we'll continue fluids and assess in another hour but this is good. Very good."_ The doctor told Anna in Japanese, she gave a sigh of a relief at the news. It meant it was working. She wasn't cured, but she had a fighting chance to survive and so far was kicking ass. It was good news to everyone else in the room who weren't too far gone.

"What did he say?" Tex asked.

"She's not getting worse, he'll keep monitoring her but they think it's a good sign." She told him with a smile, Tex gave chuckle of relief as he scrubbed a hand down his face. Anna turned to the Doctor who was updating Anna's chart. " _Thank you Doctor_." Anna said in Japanese.

* * *

"What is this?" Samantha asked incredulously as Allison showed her the orders she wanted encrypted and sent to the Nathan James.

"The orders." Allison told her.

"This is an Executive order to arrest the CNO on some dubious charges." Samantha remarked as she saw Oliver had signed off on it. She wondered if the man realised what he'd done. But of course he was just a prisoner like her. A puppet for show.

"He's stepped over the line, Captain Meylan will take over and return the Nathan James to San Diego before they do start a war with China. A war, we can both agree on would be very bad for our country." Allison told her.

"Why show me?" Samantha asked dryly.

"Because in a few hours, you'll denouncing Tom Chandler to America. I'll provide a script for you as you'll become acting CNO, you will order all military personnel to report to their territories for reassignment." Allison told her.

"I look forward to it." Samantha said unenthusiastically as she closed the file and walked over to Dennis' station and dropped the file on his desk.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Lena asked Kara as the woman came back outside and at down on the ground where a large cotton blanket laid. The babies were all laying on the ground while Scout ran around them sniffing them out, he raced to Kara and greeted her with puppy kisses. She smiled petting Scout until he lost interest and went to Lena's side.

"Better, though I can feel my face now." Kara said with a wince as the drugs had well and truly worn off. She felt every bruise and ache in her body, she was pretty sure she had a couple of cracked ribs but she ignored the pain as she pulled Frankie into her arms again. She had a long shower and donned a long sleeve cotton shirt dress that ended just below Kara's knees. It was the only thing in Kate and Lena's clothes that fit but it was better than the clothes she'd been wearing before.

"I'm sure medical will give you paracetamol." Rachel offered, she looked concerned for Kara but had already checked her injuries. Nothing but rest and OTC pain killers would help Kara.

"You should talk to them, they have Kate tucked away in there." Lena said.

"Why?" Kara asked, she had wondered where Kate was. Memories flittered through her mind of Kate being on a bed somewhere unconscious. She tried to think of where it was but the memory was almost dreamlike as if it weren't real but her mind manifesting a version of where Kate could be. A cold chill went down her spine as she thought about the files she'd seen. Dr Milowsky had been released from prison and was now running a science division.

"Saying she flipped and had a PTSD episode. So they had to lock her up. I don't like it, she's never had any 'episodes' where I'd be concerned for the safety of others. It's just off, like this whole place." Lena told her.

"This place used to be a FEMA camp." Kara told her.

"Those were a rumour." Lena told her.

"This place has been expanded and upgraded in the past three months. I saw the files on it." Kara said, she just couldn't believe she was here. She should be still in interrogation. It didn't make sense unless she told them everything or they didn't need whatever she needed. The only reason she was still alive was that she had pull. Danny would do anything to keep them alive.

"We're hostages." Rachel stated.

"Yes, but it doesn't mean we are helpless." Kara told them, they all looked at her with disbelief. She didn't blame them as she knew they couldn't riot, they couldn't overpower their captors as they'd only be rounded up again. Her brain was still a little gluggy but she knew that they could still assist in their own recovery.

"The woman with an ankle monitor says we're not helpless. Kate said there was no way to get everyone out." Rachel said.

"I agree, but what we need is to gather intel. The files don't have a rundown of the day to day activities. So we need to start tracking shifts and how this camp works so when rescue comes we can help them from the inside." Kara told them.

"How are we going to tell them on the outside?"

"I don't know. But first we know how the camp operates, we work on getting comms."

"How?" Lena asked her with keen interest.

"Ask me in a couple hours." Kara told her with a smile grateful to be with friends even thought part of her was heartbroken about her mother. She felt their relationship was now irreparably damaged.

* * *

Jed laughed as Will offered Jacob possum jerky only to see the young man turn green at the thought of it. "It's good food." Will assured Jacob.

"I'm good." Jacob assured him from the backseat of the car.

"Youngin's," Will scoffed as he held out a piece to Jed. Jed took the offer of food as he was hungry. The meat was a little gamey but overall not bad eating. "So, this egghead will help us track down these settlements where the families are being held?" he asked Jed.

"Yes," Jed said.

"My people will spread word and hoof it on foot." Will told Jed.

"Why wouldn't they join us?" Jacob asked.

"They don't trust you people." Will looked pointedly at Jacob. "Jed however is good people, you wouldn't know how to wipe your ass without someone supervising." Will said making assumptions of Jacob's character and well anyone under the age of 50 given Will thought Tom was still in diapers.

"I can wipe me ass alone, thanks." Jacob told him in a smarmy manner. Will hooted a laugh and gave Jed a 'look who's big for his boots' look.

"I'll speak for my people, they don't want to engage the enemy unless it's absolutely necessary." Will told him.

"How will they know what to do?" Jacob asked.

"Smoke signals." Will said in a matter of fact tone. Jed kept his eyes on the road as he was trying not to crack up laughing. Will was not cutting Jacob any slack but he knew it was as much for amusement as it was for the safety of his men. He was grateful for the help, any help at the moment

"Are you shitting me?" Jacob asked him.

"No." Will deadpanned.

* * *

Sasha came into her quarters and smiled as Jesse was sitting up in her bunk reading some trashy novel while Misato was curled up at her side fast asleep under the blankets.

"Hey," Sasha said as she closed the door behind her.

"How did it go with the Pirates?" Jesse asked lowering the book to give her full attention to her.

"It was successful. We have the cipher. How was Misato?" Sasha asked her.

"Slept through it all. You know you'll have to give her up." Jesse said.

"Do I?" Sasha asked. She moved to the bunk and sat down to pull off her boots. "She has no family, I was thinking about retiring and going back stateside. I could adopt her." Sasha pointed out, she knew it was way too fast to be thinking about Misato and becoming a family but she liked how it felt.

"That's a big step." Jesse told her.

"I know," Sasha said.

* * *

"Are they late?" Val asked Ravit, they had parked around the side of the abandoned gas station and hid out of sight of the road. They had driven for hours until they found a fairly nice unoccupied house. Ravit had kicked in the door and Val had disabled the security before they used the home owner's laptop to send Dennis the information. They just hoped he could pass it onto the Nathan James.

Val had tried to see where Kara had been taken and any new information on the others but Val called it quits early in fear of being caught.

Not wanting to be tracked again or lose Ravit, she had stopped her search. They left the house after raiding it for food and water. They hit the road until they arrived at the designated meeting spot. It was nerve wracking, just waiting in the middle of nowhere. It reminded Val of when she and Kara had been caught. This time though, Val had no computer to be track by. She knew better than to think that whoever had found them the first time wouldn't do the same again.

She had thought she was smarter than her opponent. A mistake she wouldn't be making again.

* * *

"Ok, we need magnetic wire, a diode, a glue stick or anything similar in size — about 1 inch by 1 inch by 6 inches. It can be a piece of wood. It doesn't have to be perfectly round, but using something round is easier for winding. Electrical tape, wire stripping pliers, a Telephone handset and a piece of wood. To set it on. That will make us able to hear the signals leaving and coming in." Kara said.

"But we can't send anything out." Barbara Miller stated, she smiled through the bad state as she was holding a very fussy Evie. Olivia was currently under a light muslin blanket being fed by Rachel.

"No," Kara sighed, "Which is why we'll need to make a Morse code machine. That is going to be harder to do." she said as she mulled over what she would need for. The task was going to hard as they didn't have the equipment on hand or a radio shack to raid. It meant trying to find everything from what they had around them. She looked to the other people who were congregated in the small area between Lena and Rachel's house. Lena and Barbara had pulled the small group together to try and figure out how to get out of their situation. She had never thought of pulling in so many people but she realised that this would take a village.

"Really, because finding a telephone handset is going to be easy." Maria Cruz quipped dryly as she picked up a vegetable pasty Mrs Burk had brought to the impromptu picnic lunch. The ground was laden with food and baby paraphernalia.

"The infirmary is part of the old structures on the site. They have old telephone boxes. Have to assume the hand sets are still in there even if the lines are cut. We only need to find a way to rip it out of the wall without people noticing." Mr Burk said from his chair. The only man in the group, he seemed content to let the women talk at least until Kara had mentioned building comms. He had been a high school science teacher while Mrs Burk had been a stay at home mother holding down the fort while raising two very rambunctious boys.

"Not impossible." Barbara said, she looked pointedly at Rachel.

"What?" Rachel asked them as she was sleep deprived and barely managing to stay sane with her twins. She had a good support network but the reality of being a hostage and knowing Tom and Jed not to mention many of her friends were out there in danger made her worry.

"Twins so susceptible for fevers. They can be very loud when a mother is frantic. Great distraction." Barbara pointed out.

"Ah, but what of the rest of the things on the list?" Rachel asked her, she wasn't one for theatrics but she'd help in anyway she could.

"We can pull the diode out of the fire detector. Wire from the clothes dryer-" Kara stated.

"Telephone systems would have copper wiring. Be a tad easier to pull wiring off a wall than dig it out of a dryer." Mr Burk said.

"I'll get the boys to filch a glue stick from school. But what about the tools?" Maria asked.

"That's going to be tough in these new houses." Mr Burk said thoughtfully.

"Maybe not, we just gotta blow a fuse right? Battery from the fire detector should do it. Right?" Lena asked Kara and Mr Burk. He rubbed his bald head thoughtfully and gave a shrug.

"Yes, it would but need to do it in an obscured area of the house. So they know it wasn't done on purpose." Kara said, the plan coming together well. They just needed to plan it so their captors would not cotton onto them.

* * *

 _Mike found himself in staring out the doorway of the hut he'd been in when Takehaya had taken his blood. The pirates were having a party with cast of Baywatch; sharing beers around a bonfire. He heard a scared whimper and turned to see a very pregnant Kate lying on a slab; he'd once been strapped to. She was strapped down by the wrists and ankles, an IV in her arm that was connected to a dialysis machine. Milowsky sat in the chair, like Takehaya had and grinned at him as he gave a sigh of pleasure from Kate's blood running into his body._

 _She was dressed in a hospital gown, her hair a sweaty and matted mess. She was deathly pale, covered in a heavy sheen of sweat, she heaved for air as she struggled to get up but her eyes were closed, her face contorted in pain. He rushed to her side and smoothed a hand over her forehead and rested the other over her stomach. Her eyes flickered open and she looked relieved to see him. "Mike," she breathed, a faint smile on her pained features._

 _"It'll be ok." He assured her, he felt the baby kick under the soft fabric of the gown. "I'll get you both out of this." He promised, he moved to the restraints to release them but for the life of him, he couldn't get the restraints open. They seemed indecipherable. He looked around the room for something to help him cut through the restraints when everything snapped out._

He blinked his eyes open as he woke up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding as he told himself it was just a dream.

* * *

Val looked to Will, the man had showered and changed into fresh clothes which was nice but his appearance was unnerving given he looked like Santa's poor cousin. He hovered over her shoulder as she was sifting through the information on the thumb drive she had on her person. They'd found a laptop and a printer in the house they were using as a base. It was in a small country town, no internet connection at all, and it looked like no one had been in the house for over two years. The whole town was deserted.

"Morse code?" Val repeated as Will had told her how he and his people communicated and spoke over long distances. He had even placed some weird looking device on the table that was supposed to be his Morse code machine. To her it looked like a poor man's electrocution trap for a mouse.

"It's how we talk. We got a short hand." He told her.

"Sounds intriguing, but it doesn't solve the current issue that we have no clue what's going on." Val said as there was just so much information to sift through and to figure out what was relevant to them personally and what was ultimately background noise. She focussed on the Nathan James Families and anything pertaining to them but there was over 32GB of information. It was going to take time.

"Search names." Will offered unhelpfully.

"They are in code." Val told him, she hit print on the load of information for Ravit and Jacob to go through.

"Mmm well I'll have to smoke on that." he told her. She gave a wry smile as he reminded her of one of her pothead friends. He couldn't have a coherent thought without a cone of weed first. After that, he could talk about any subject matter. He was sure he sounded deep and intelligent but for most part it was amusing garbage. She wasn't a stoner herself, but she did enjoy taking off the edge and shutting her brain off every once and a while.

"You do that." Val told him, glad as the man disappeared out of the house leaving her to her work.

* * *

"Passive radar is clear, Sir. No sign of the Chinese." Gator told Mike, he gave a nod as it was good but left the question of where the remaining 3 Chinese Naval ships were. He saw Jeter move his way and they went to the side of the bridge to speak quietly. Tom was overseeing the supplies being transferred to the Pirate ship.

"How's the temperature below deck?" Mike asked, he was running on very little sleep thanks to his nightmare. He was still unsettled by it all. Jeter didn't look happy at the question which told Mike that it wasn't going well. Mike had a feeling Meylan was stewing on the events of the last 24 hours and judging them all.

"Considering the circumstances... I'd call it a low simmer." Jeter said downplaying it.

"New kid thinks CNO's motivations might not be completely impartial." Mike said,

"New kid's had a rough day. He'll buck up." Jeter said diplomatically.

"Can't say I blame him, I just want to go home. This mission feels like it's never ending." Mike confessed to Jeter in a low voice. The man didn't judge him but instead accepted Mike for what he was saying. Mike wasn't trying to flake out on his duties. He was just once again torn between his duty to his country and his duty to his family. Jeter knew about Christina's death and Kate being pregnant. While he trusted his mother and Kate to look after themselves and the girls; he just felt an undeniable need to be with them.

"Sir," Granderson said interrupting them, Mike and Jeter turned her her "The cipher the pirates found checked out. So far, we've isolated two direct communications between the Sea Dragon destroyer and Peng." She informed them.

"Can we pinpoint his location in China?" Mike asked.

"That's just it, sir. He's not in China. He's mobilized his remaining destroyers off the coast of Tokyo. And the latest intel suggests he's aboard one of those destroyers." Granderson said. Mike frowned as he wondered what the hell Takehaya was doing in Japan.

* * *

"Dad?" Kat croaked in a dry and scratchy voice, Tex lifted his head from the bed where he'd been resting to see Kat's eyes open, she was still pale but she had more colour in her face.

"Hey kiddo," he said with a smile, a lump formed in his throat as he was just so grateful to see her awake. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Tired, am I sick?" she asked him.

"Yeah, but you're getting better." He assured her as the gene therapy was working. She wasn't about to run a marathon but his little girl was going to live. "I'm going to get you some water and a doctor." He told her. Kat weakly nodded and watched her dad go to find the doctor. She tried to swallow but her throat was too dry.

10 minutes later, Kat was upright in bed with glass of water and bowl of clear broth. She had to admit she was glad it wasn't proper food as she was feeling a little queasy. The doctors hovered around her. She was glad Tex and Anna were there as the doctors made her uneasy.

"She's much improved." Dr Vellek remarked sceptically, he looked at Anna with a peeved expression.

"It's not a cure. It's more of an immune booster, we need to take samples of blood to see what has happened and keep her under observation for another 6 hours at least before we administer the medicine to others." Another doctor said slowly in heavily accented English. He made notes on Kat's file but even for his lack of English skills he looked relieved and happy to find something that could be an answer.

"It's up to Kat." Tex said as he didn't want to make arbitrary decisions of Kat's person.

"I'm ok, take what you –" Kat started but Anna cut her off.

"Take the minimum amount of blood. She's still recovering." Anna said correcting Kat as she didn't want the Doctors harvesting her for science.

" _I don't care, I want my family to have this medicine now."_ Sagara said in Japanese.

" _We don't know the long term effects of the Gene Therapy. Many might not consent to being modified genetically_." The doctor told him.

 _"I don't care, they and many others will die while waiting. Wouldn't it better to save them and worry about the long term effects later_?" Sagara told them. " _The cure was barely tested for long term effects on the population and we still took it. This works, it may not have a 100% success rate but we're supposed to save our people."_ He argued.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

* * *

Nishioka sat in Comms with Commander Garnett hovering in the background. They had been trying to pick up long distance communications between Peng and the other vessel out there. Not to mention trying to monitor what was going on back home. But so far they couldn't find anything of use.

"XO, we have a top secret SCI communication coming from central command. It's double encrypted." Nishioka said frowning as a second message popped up on the screen from the same channel. He tried to access the second and found it was a large file. "And another but it's still downloading." He added.

"Put the first message through first stage decrypt and print it out." Garnett ordered as she looked to the screen with a frown as it was highly unusual to receive such communications during EMCON especially when the White House concurred to a communications blackout.

"Aye, ma'am. First stage decrypt commencing." He said, he did as ordered while he wondered what the second communiqué could be. The first message cleared the first stage of decryption. Nishioka printed it out ad placed it into a manila folder and passed it to Garnett. She looked at the message was still encrypted in Command code and frowned as it wasn't addressed to Mike or Tom but Captain Meylan.

"I'll be back to see that other message." She told him.

"Yes, Ma'am." He said.

* * *

"Midnight feeds." Rachel said with a humorous all be it tired smile as she and Kara were outside of the townhouses holding grumpy and hungry babies. It was amusing even if the circumstances were strange.

"More like the grumps with mine. I hate being trapped but I love that I'm holding my daughter and that she's ok." Kara said with a smile. Frankie cuddled in her arms, Kara loved Frankie being grumpy and needing to be held. It strangely made her feel wanted and was glad she couldn't be so easily replaced.

"At least we have a plan." Rachel said.

"Yes, I just hope the Nathan James knows what is going on." Kara said with a sigh. She'd walked around one quarter of the camp as the compound was huge. There was no way to escape with every family on the base. Frankly it would be hard to convince people to leave given how perfect it all seemed.

They had housing, food, medical care and security. The problem was that the security was there to keep the people in as much as it was to keep others out. She knew once she'd slept a little longer than three hours then she'd be able to see a little more clearly to start getting together a plan to help the others outside help liberate them.

The only good thing was that Kara's memories had slowly returned to her. There was still a lot she couldn't remember but she vaguely remembered protecting the computer and allowing Val to escape. She just hoped Val reached the others in time.

"Was there anything about Kate in those files?" Rachel asked, Kara gave a nod as her face fell into a grim expression.

"Milowsky has been pardoned for his crimes. Project Genesis is back on." Kara said, Rachel froze as she felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her. She moved to the step and sat down as she felt unsure of her footing. "I don't know where Kate is, but I can see them wanting to contain her. She's not one to follow the rules and she has a past record of defending herself." Kara added.

"I know, they most likely placed her in a medically induced coma. Did they say where she would be held?" Rachel asked, she felt sick to her stomach. It was like Baltimore all over again, she just wondered when they would come for her and her children.

"Hey, if you want, I can stay with you." Kara offered.

"No, it's ok. You're literally next door." Rachel said.

"Still, the offer is there." Kara told her.

"We need to find out where she is." Rachel told Kara, she knew they were focussed on becoming connected with the outside world but now all she could think about was Kate being alone in Milowsky's clutches. She and Kate had barely escaped unscathed first time.

"Val escaped and I know she's better equipped to find out where Kate is. If she's still here, it would be somewhere we'd never be able to access." Kara told her.

"You said you remembered seeing her." Rachel pointed out.

"I do but I don't know where she is. Only that it's in the older sections of the compound. Somewhere that we're not allowed to go to. I know this tough but we really need to line up our ducks in a row before we can do anything-"

"Because we'll only have one chance to act." Rachel finished.

* * *

"The pirates have nearly packed up their supplies and will kick off in the hour. They said they would run back up for us to Japan." Tom said, he was unhappy at losing supplies but they had gained an ally that wanted to go after Peng as much he did. The pirates had a small frigate in their command, it was once a Japanese SDF Naval forces if the tags were to be believed; which Tom did.

Mike had told him how they learnt Peng was going to Japan. He like Mike was perplexed until they spoke with Takehaya. The man seemed to believe that the attack on Japan was not about land grabbing but revenge for the Sino-Japanese wars and the events of Nanking during the second conflict. It had been in Peng's dossier the entire time as it said Peng came from the area, it clear now that he must have family members who'd survived the brutality of that time.

It also meant they needed to Japan as there were still many defenceless survivors; they needed to protect them from Peng trying to annihilate them.

"Good," Mike said but Tom knew that Mike was questioning the mission. He didn't know why Meylan's words about there being doubt in his command. He knew for Mike it was a desire to go home to family. But it still nagged him as he and Mike butted heads when they first learned about the Pandemic and Tom had changed the mission. Even so, Mike had stayed loyal but now, Tom wondered if the man was finally reached his limit.

"Captain Chandler." Meylan called, Tom turned and frowned as Meylan walked onto the bridge with his X.O. and two other men. Obviously Hayward crew as Tom didn't recognise them but knew their stature due to their rank.

"Captain Meylan. Something on your mind?" Tom asked. Meylan held up a manila file.

"I have a flash order from the Commander in Chief to place you under arrest, relieve Captain Slattery of his command, and take Nathan James back to San Diego." Meylan informed them, Mike reared up at Meylan taking his command while Tom snatched the file from Meylan's hand.

"What the hell did you say?" Mike asked incredulously as the man had balls to come onto the bridge spouting nonsense as he was. Tom opened the file and looked at the orders while Mike squared off with Meylan; glaring at him for thinking this was appropriate behaviour.

"Illegal incursion into the sovereign territory of a foreign country. Attempted murder of a foreign leader. Destroying a non-combative foreign vessel. Dereliction of duty." Tom said calmly as he didn't believe a word written on this page. He closed the file and exchanged a look with Mike who was equally perplexed and annoyed.

"Ah, this is bullshit." Mike said as snatched the file from Tom ad read over the orders.

" You can verify it if you like." Meylan said pulling out his command code book. He held it out to Granderson as Mike had handed the orders over for her to verify the orders. Mike looked at Meylan not wanting the man to think they'd cower over bogus charges.

"Both Presidents backed the orders; you can't arrest the CNO for something that was sanctioned from the very beginning." Mike told Meylan. He knew he should be letting Meylan have his way as it meant going home but these orders came through the wrong channels. It just didn't sit well. "Anyway orders like this should have come addressed to my XO not you. It's a break in protocol and the charges absurd which means we should disregard them." Mike added.

"From the short time I've been on this ship, I can see why charges like these wouldn't be a surprise." Meylan told him.

"CNO, Captain-"Garnett said as she entered the bridge, she stopped as she noticed the tension then whatever was bothering compelled her to interrupt them. "We've received a second communiqué from the central command, you need to see it now. It's only a fraction of the message as it's over 500 pages long." She told them, she handed over a manila folder Tom. He opened the folder and frowned as he couldn't believe what he was reading.

"When did it come in?" Tom asked her as he skimmed the information.

"Same time as an encrypted message to Captain Meylan." Garnett said, she watched as Tom passed the file to Mike. Mike didn't seem interested in it as he was glaring at Meylan. But he took the file and opened it up and skimmed over the pages. He looked disgusted as he snapped it closed and passed it to Meylan. The man took the file and read the first page before his expression grew sceptical.

"You're kidding me? It's not even verified information." Meylan scoffed but before any of them could argue Meylan looked to his Master of Arms disregarding the information Garnett had. "Master at Arms Plummer. Please remand Captain Chandler into custody." Meylan ordered.

Mike stood between the Master of Arms and Tom, not willing to give up his post as they needed to keep command of the ship. With what they'd just learnt from Garnett, the White House was compromised and going home on their orders was suicide.

"Stand down. I'll comply with the order." Tom said, Mike turned to him, "You need to keep the peace right now. I'll be counting on you, Captain." Tom told him, Mike gave a nod.

"Sir." Master of Arms Plummer said, Tom walked past him and left the bridge. The state of things had him in shock but he was already formulating a plan. He just hoped Mike knew how to make things work on his end so Tom could tell him what he figured they should do.

* * *

" _Good dog!"_ Sasha said cheerfully in Japanese to Halsey as she and Misato were playing with him at the front area of the ship. Misato giggle for the first time as Halsey licked her face as thanks for playing catch with him.

 _"Attention, all hands. This is Captain Mike Slattery. Effective immediately, by order of the Commander in Chief, Captain Tom Chandler has been relieved of duty and placed under arrest."_ Mike's voice said over the P.A.

Sasha frowned as she wondered what the hell was going on. Why would her brother be under arrest? She picked up the ball from ground and rolled is fast back up the prow. Halsey took off and Misato clapped her hands.

 _"Per that same order, I have been relieved of duty, and Captain Joseph Meylan has taken command of the ship. Come on, let's go. Keep moving. Now. I expect every member of this crew to perform their duties with the professionalism and determination customary to this ship. This is Captain Slattery. That is all_." Mike said, the P.A. sounded out and Sasha looked down at Misato.

" _I think Jesse would like to play with Halsey too. Do you think we should go get her_?" Sasha asked Misato, the little girl nodded before she hugged Halsey around the neck. Sasha smiled as she held out her hand and Misato grasped it.

* * *

"Can I get out of bed?" Kat asked, she wanted to get up and take a shower. She didn't feel great but she did feel good enough to get around on her own. She was also tired of her Father and Anna hovering over her. She understood why they had been worried but she felt better. Her Dad's snoring was getting super annoying as he was sleeping in a chair beside her bed.

"Not yet." Anna told her as she read Avocet files on her laptop. She was trying to figure out where Dr Vellek got the information about the Gene therapy. It wasn't cited on any of the research nor did he have access to the company. He wasn't an employee which explained why he needed her to go get the research. She hated feeling suspicious of the man as she was tired of second guessing people. But after last night's episode, she found herself not trusting him.

"I don't really understand what happened." Kat said, Anna closed the laptop and looked to Kat. She was definitely on the mend and rapidly improving. It was rather amazing and Anna was envious of Kat's bounce back. If only her gene therapy had been such a success.

"I injected you with a gene therapy that is supposed to make your body physically more efficient." Anna told her.

"So I'm a superhero now?" Kat asked not entirely sure of what Anna was saying.

"No, you're a healthier version of Kate and I." Anna said simplifying it.

"Cool. When can I get out of here?" Kat asked her, Anna was quietly impressed at Kat accepting what she'd done. Though in retrospect, Kat had seen all the research and info spread across the Valkyrie Network about Lassiter Industries and its Gene Therapy trials.

"In a few hours." Anna told her. Kat made a face and laid back while Anna smiled enjoying the impatience the teenager had.

* * *

Kate drifted awake and wished she hadn't as the room was hot and humid, Cold oxygen blasted into her nose giving her a sinus headache and the strong need to sneeze. She tried to move but her body wouldn't comply, her heart started to pound erratically in her chest as she realised she was bound to the bed. Memories of Baltimore, filtered through her mind like a horror movie as it clear history was repeating itself.

She sluggishly pulled on her restraints and wished her vitals monitor would shut up as it was beeping fast. The door the room opened and Kate watched as a nurse and three heavily armed men came in.

"Relax, she's restrained to the bed." The nurse told them with a huff as she moved to a medicine cabinet and came to Kate's bed side.

"Tell that to the guys she murdered in Baltimore." One of them told her grimly.

"Don't do this." Kate told the woman as she watched the Nurse ready a syringe. "Please." She begged, the Nurse ignored her and injected the IV line.

* * *

"Captain Meylan, I've been looking over the information attached to the flash orders." X.O. Cobb said to him in a low voice.

"And?" Meylan asked.

"It's legitimate. It's from central command, sent at the same time but the thing is the information doesn't relate to CNO, and the charges." X.O. Cobb told him.

"Then what am I looking at?" Meylan asked her as he looked at the mess of information on the table.

"Sir, it looks like America is being divided into 6 sovereign countries. There are records of food and supplies being transported equally between the countries, trade agreements made and prisons being retrofitted right next to food storage facilities. There are also FEMA camps that have been activated, there records of personnel and supplies being moved to them for an influx of 'suspected dissidents'."

"It's a coup." Sasha told him.

"More like conspiracy theory in the making." Meylan said as he couldn't believe his X.O. could be so easily swayed.

"Operation Homestead, has taken over 2000 people into custody across the states. My father is on the list of suspects taken into custody." X.O. Cobb told him as she passed him a thick pile of papers. It list of names where several names were highlighted. "I've asked X.O. Garnett to highlight names of people known by the crew. There are over 60 names of 'Dissidents' and they are all related to Navy personnel on this ship. Your wife is on the list" She added.

"For what reason?" Meylan asked confused as he looked through the names. He saw his wife's name on the list and frowned as his wife was not one to clash with the system. She was the exact opposite of a Dissident. She was a conformist, a pacifist.

"To hold every military member hostage to the country. They are leverage to control you and anyone who wants to buck the system." Sasha told him.

"This can't be real." Meylan said.

"The evidence is all here. They took Michener out of office, replaced him with Oliver Howard ad now they got you to remove the CNO from command. They ordered us to return to San Diego because they knew you would follow orders. Do you really believe we'll safely make port? They'll sink the ship before then. They already tried to take out CNO before because they knew he wouldn't follow the rules. Worse yet, they knew that he would come back and mess up their chances of tearing America to pieces. It's working, look at the crew. Do you think for a moment that anyone is happy about you taking over the ship." Sasha pointed out to him.

"If this is true, then we can't stop them. We're outgunned and fighting against our own and the CNO is more interested in stopping Peng which I'm still trying to understand what that will accomplish?" Meylan argued.

"Peng is deploying a chemical weapon that we're not immune to. If we don't stop him and destroy the weapons he has; then America could be the next target. The whole point of capturing Peng is to learn why he killed all these people and who is helping him. It all leads back to keeping the world safe which includes America last time I checked. Why would Colonel Nash agree to EMCON when she knew protocol would dictate that you'd have to inform central command of you taking control of ship and Tom being in custody?" Sasha asked him.

"I don't know." Meylan said as he just couldn't quite put all the pieces together but then he also didn't want to. He didn't want to believe his country would betray him. He also couldn't believe the position he'd put him and his crew in. Yes, he'd felt vindicated by having flash orders to remove Chandler and Slattery from command. He felt the charges to be true but how could they be when his wife was arrested as a dissident. A woman he'd known since he was ten yr olds. It made him feel conflicted.

"Look, this is much bigger than you want to believe it to be, we might not have all the facts but we have enough. Peng is going to go to Japan. He's going to wipe out what is left of the Japanese people. We can help those people, they'll help us refuel and resupply before we go back to America." Sasha told him, she took a deep breath and exhaled as she tried to gather her thoughts. She knew Tom would most likely do something stupid like create a mutiny and take over the ship; something that would kill his career, so she had to make Meylan see the truth or at least her truth. "Captain, the Navy suffered great losses in the last couple of weeks because there was a mole in the government who gave away our position to Peng. Right now, we can't fix what's happening in America but we can help those in Japan and use however long it takes to get back to America to come up with a plan to save our people." Sasha told him.

"You want me to release the CNO and hand the ship back to Slattery?" Meylan asked wryly.

"I'm asking you to let them see this and work together before we all tear each other apart." Sasha told him.

"Are you threatening me with a mutiny?" Meylan asked her carefully.

"No, I'm telling you that your people are outnumbered by the Nathan James crew. They are all extremely loyal to the CNO. They might respect that you have your orders but when they find out that the government that sent those orders also imprisoned their families? They won't sit back and wait for San Diego. They'll want a plan, they'll want to fight. Tell me, you don't feel the same way right now?" Sasha asked him.

* * *

Tom sat at the small desk in the quarters he'd been isolated in writing his resignation. It was in preparation of when Sasha arrived. She would be his attorney and he'd resign his commission so as to make the whole process easier. Easier for his mind as he could never commit mutiny while wearing his uniform. He just needed her to come by, so that he could tell her his plan. He was about sign the document when the door opened.

He turned in his chair and frowned as Meylan and Mike stepped into the room. He closed the door and faced Tom and Mike who both had shared a look of confusion. Meylan looked annoyed and uncomfortable by being in the room with them.

"I believe the charges to be real." He told them, Tom and Mike remained silent as they knew the man had more to say. "I believe it because you flagrantly break the rules and take dangerous risks that damage US relations with other countries. There's no record of Michener approving your mission to infiltrate Peng's mansion. I have no evidence to prove that you're not guilty of the charges. If anything I'd add to them given you cavorted with known criminals." Meylan said, he paused and took a huffed breath.

"But-" Meylan continued "I also have information of our government moving to dissolve our country. Proof that it's built walls to cut off territories and people being arrested as suspected dissidents and put into camps. My wife-" He stopped and shook his head. "She's never broken a rule in her life, never bent them, never once tried to get away with anything. She's perfect, she doesn't swear or even bitch about other women. Yet, she's in one of these camps as are your families." He told them.

"This from the information that came in with the flash orders?" Mike asked, he looked to Tom who was in just as much shock given the information they had skimmed was about the dissolving of the government.

"Yes, I have my X.O. and several other crewmembers going through it all as we speak. I'm struggling with who to trust. Do I trust my government or do I trust what has been sent to me that conflicts with everything I made an oath to? Is my oath still valid if the country and government I pledged to; doesn't exist?" Meylan asked them, he'd never felt such disillusionment as he did now. He'd survived the pandemic with his faith in country and the Navy intact. But now, he just felt adrift. It was why he asked Mike to come with him to talk to Tom. He hadn't explained it to Mike. He never wanted anyone outside of this room to know what he was experiencing.

"You're the Captain, you have to decide what you believe is the right thing to do." Tom told him.

"How did you do it? How could you turn your back on orders and sail away from the coast when you had orders to drop Dr Scott off?" Meylan asked him.

"There were too many unknowns going on land. So, I made the decision because I knew my people and I trusted Dr Scott when she said that she could make a cure on the ship. It made the most sense to me. Just as it made the most sense to me to go after Peng when he tried to kill me. He's doing his damndest to take over this region, something we can't turn a blind eye to. I can't turn a blind eye to genocide." Tom told him.

"Neither can I." Mike added.

"That little girl that follows Cooper around the ship, she was found buried under the dead bodies of her family and people from her village. They were slaves, Peng had them killed so they could never testify against him. President Oliver told me, when I had the proof that Peng was involved in the Genocide of the Japanese people that I had his permission to step in. We have the proof, we have the testimony of a dying woman that Peng is responsible for this." Tom told Meylan.

"It doesn't change the problem of what is happening back home." Meylan told them.

"We're low on supplies. You said it yourself. We take out Peng, we might be able to find out who the mole is back home and put the final pieces together. We can also refuel and resupply." Tom told him.

"I'm going to be a fool for releasing you and my crew will not understand." Meylan told them, his ego getting in the way as much as his lack of faith in the situation.

"Perhaps we need to make a compromise." Mike said, as he could see the struggle Meylan was in. He'd been there himself many times before and just like he; Meylan would find his footing. "We can't keep anything quiet on the ship. So if we show a strong front together; the crew then they will commit to us and the mission." Mike told him.

"Agreed," Tom said, "I suggest you return command of the ship back to Slattery and temporarily take over as X.O., we don't want a mutiny on this ship but for now we have to meld our crews and make this work."

"What about you?" Meylan asked.

"Right now, I'm in custody until we can clear up the legitimacy of the charges." Tom said.

"But we can put an escort on you and have you consult in the wardroom on our plans. This way, we're not entirely ignoring what happened but we have to make concessions to keep the peace." Mike said to Meylan.

"Ok, you should know that I've already changed course to head to Japan. I would suggest we inform the crew of our reasoning to prioritise Peng's capture than what we know of home for now." Meylan said.

"I concur." Tom said.


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

* * *

"Here," Jed said to Ravit as he stepped outside of the old house they were currently residing in.

"Thanks." Ravit said as she took the coffee from him. She was keeping a lookout for trouble while Jacob and Val made their crazy wall inside. It had taken hours of printing and other office paraphernalia for the two to build a big wall of conspiracy. But it showed a clear picture of what the regional leaders were up to. America was enduring a silent coup.

Michener had been removed from power and shoved into prison. He was then replaced by Oliver who was unravelling all the work Michener and Kate had done during the recovery of the country. It was all being torn apart and divvied up between the regions. They had solidified the borders with fifteen foot high concrete barriers and barbed wire fencing through areas they couldn't reach with the concrete barriers.

Interestingly, St Louis and part of Missouri was its own tiny territory as it seemed to remain the power seat even though the regions would be run by their own leaders; it showed they still had a higher power to answer to. Val and Jacob were currently arguing that not one region could survive on its own and that there would be co-dependencies each other.

"They don't seem to ever shut up." Jed remarked as Jacob and Val's voices could be heard from the front of the house. The two had dissolved into the argument of who was a moron. Bit of a moot point given Val had a higher IQ score, something they all knew.

"I'd tell them to get a room but I know Val doesn't swing that way." Ravit said, Jed smiled in amusement. "I wish they focus on the camps instead of bickering about the coup that is occurring." She added.

"They found the locations and maps. Will's people will help us with intel we need to pass onto Tom and the others." Jed assured her, they were both worried for the people in the camps.

"What if they don't make it back?" Ravit asked referring to the Nathan James.

"They will, right now we're doing what we can. There's another man I got to go see today. So will you be ok here?" he asked her.

"Yes, but can I ask something?" she asked him.

"Sure." Jed said.

"Why aren't we telling the military, the ones in service? They said they would help." Ravit said to him, Jed pondered on it for a moment.

"They are trapped by their oath or their fears. There are still too many unknowns for them to act, our job right now is to eliminate those unknown variables, so they can make a plan than go in blind." Jed told her.

* * *

"I prefer the grey." Oliver snapped at Allison, Samantha pretended to not look surprised as Allison was on a real power trip to the point she was telling Samantha what uniform to wear. Something Samantha told her wasn't something she could do given every uniform in Samantha's wardrobe had a time and place. Allison however liked to drag Samantha around and show her just how much power she had. Just like now.

"If the last presidential power I got is the choice over what I wear, I'm wearing the brown suit." Oliver told her, Allison wore a pleasant smile even though one could tell she was pissed off.

"The speech this afternoon... Have you gotten a chance to go over it?" She asked him.

"Oh, I've been over it. This is basically a national self-destruct order. What's my legacy gonna be? The overnight President who killed America?" Oliver asked Allison.

"The virus killed America, 're saving what's left." she told him, Oliver who was at his rope's end threw the speech at her but in his actions topped a lamp off the desk. It crashed to the floor and the secret service officer in the room stepped forward to intervene until Allison waved him back.

"Read the speech today word for word and I guarantee there will be a place for you in the new world. And an even better place for you in the new economy." Allison told him.

"If I don't?" he demanded.

"I recommend you wear the grey suit." Allison turned to Samantha."You will be in your dress whites. Do not argue with me about protocol. There is an image to project here, people. Now do as you're told." She told them before she walked out of the room.

* * *

"My men saw at least one Chinese Destroyer headed for Honshu. I believe they intend to make their landing in Tokyo." Takehaya told Mike, Tom, Meylan, Sasha and two of Takehaya's pirates Shirahama and Fujio.

"What kind of resistance will there be? The population..." Tom asked but Takehaya cut him off before he could finish answering the question.

"Was all but wiped out. There are small pockets but not enough people to fend off an attack. I don't think Peng is not interested in the people. I believe he is heading here. The Japanese National Archives. documents, records. historical materials important to my people. He will destroy it and let what is left of my people rot away." Takehaya said bitterly.

"So we continue at EMCON, set Deceptive Lighting, and take the ship to Quiet One." Tom suggested, Meylan nodded in agreement.

"Agreed. He has two destroyers left at his command. I want to see them before they see us. His navy sinks today." Mike said.

"What about Hatake? Isn't she in the region?" Sasha asked them.

"Even so, if we broadcast, then they'll know we're coming. It's best to keep our only advantage which at this point is the assumption we're on our way to San Diego." Meylan said as Tom and Mike had read him in one everything that had happened on the ship and their communications with Kate before they'd lost contact. He was up to speed and more confident as Tom and Mike's efforts to keep him in the know had a positive ripple effect on the crew.

"We'll make contact with her when we have Peng in custody and sunk his ships. See if she has made any progress on the biological weapons and a possible cure." Tom said.

"You believe they will have a cure?" Takehaya asked Tom, he was clearly hoping it was true if not for him but for Kyoko so their son would not grow up without family.

* * *

" _..Authorities meanwhile continue to urge residents to consider voluntary relocation, arguing that concentrated population into city centers would create a better infrastructure for most Americans, many of whom face ongoing food shortages. President Oliver is set to deliver a late-breaking speech to the nation today imploring all Americans..."_ played over the radio.

"We got to get you cleaned up. You need to go on the air." Val told him, she shook her head at how much America had dissolved in less than a month. Everything seemed bleak and she couldn't find her head clear enough to find a solution to their problems.

"What? I can't go on the air." Jacob told her.

"The President's giving speeches, rolling everything back. He's setting the stage for the regional leaders. We have to counter the message. And you're the only one who can do it. You have a news channel." She argued.

"They'll kill me." Jacob told her.

"The MSS were after me not you. Think about it, majority of the Americans don't know the truth. You can change that." Val told him as she pointed to the radio that was still spouting propaganda news to round up what remained of the population to send them to God knew where.

"We could also use you as a distraction to pull out the President." Will said speaking for the first time as he sat in a chair at the table eating an apple with a knife.

"What if he's one of them?" Jacob asked Will.

"It's time to use the balls you were born with. Our country is being disbanded and our friends used as guinea pigs for science or slaves to keep Regional leaders sitting pretty." Val told Jacob.

* * *

"There's over 40 men down there." Tex murmured over comms from his position. They'd just watched President Peng destroy a priceless statue in the front yard of the National Archives. It didn't make sense as there was a Chinese Destroyer in the bay. He could easily level the building and the remaining pockets of civilisation from the safety of his vessel.

Anna repeated what Tex had said into Japanese for the other five soldiers who were all hiding in the shadows watching. They'd intercepted communications between two Chinese destroyers. It had been enough of time for them to secure the immune survivors out of sight and make sure the hospitals were protected. They'd expected Peng's men to come through and kill any survivors but Anna's horrible skills of Mandarin to discern that the National Archives were the real target.

She's also learnt that the ground team was communicating with those on the destroyer in the bay. Anna and Sagara's people didn't have enough people to mount an attack without the ship destroying them. But she also knew they couldn't sit back and watch the destruction.

" _He's going to erase our history."_ Sagara said as they watched the Chinese Soldiers head into the building with Peng. Six soldiers however remained on the outside creating a perimeter. One man in a suit stood back and pulled out a camera as if he were filming this for prosperity. She watched as Peng's men had to blow the doors to gain entry.

" _We should attack_."

 _"No, we need to pull back and make a plan_." Anna said, Sagara concurred as he gave the order. Anna tapped Tex's shoulder and motioned for him to follow.

* * *

"Our target is the Japanese Archives currently under the protection of the Henan, which is patrolling three clicks off shore. The mission to capture Peng is a 2-pronged assault. Cobra Team will take the Chinese Destroyer Henan at Tokyo Bay, cripple its CIC, enabling Vulture Team, led by CNO to storm Peng inside the National Archives." Mike said as the CIC was filled with crew member who would all be involved with in the mission. Up on the main screen was a map of Tokyo and the coastal area. Mike used a red laser pointer to mark out the location of the building and the ship so everyone knew what was going on.

The plan was clear but they were just going over it with one final briefing before they left for the op. All the teams were dressed and only had to put on the last of their gear before heading out. Meylan was going to stay in CIC and assist TAO burk while XO Cobb and XO Garnett took up the bridge.

"We estimate Henan's ordnance covers a Weapons Engagement Zone around the Archives of 80-plus miles. However, they'll likely focus their attention and their fire on the area surrounding the Archives building itself. We'll call this the Hot Zone. Now if Vulture Team is detected approaching the Archives from anywhere inside that Hot Zone and we haven't taken Henan's CIC, that ship fires on Vulture Team." Lt Commander Burk said using a green laser pointer to mark out on the screen.

"From our monitoring, we know that Henan checks in with Peng's ground forces once every 15 minutes without fail." Lt Granderson told the room.

:Cobra Team will dive and board Henan when it's D.I.W. at the end of its patrol run in the bay. Ship will be drifting toward us, so that'll just shorten our swim." Mike told them, he looked to Jeter, "Master Chief?" he said.

"Henan is a Luyang III class guided missile destroyer similar to our..." Jeter started but Meylan cut him off.

"Ripped off." Meylan corrected somewhat bitterly.

"Ripped off from our Arleigh Burke. Everyone will study the layout. We need to know every blind alley on that ship." Jeter told the crew.

"Surgical strike on the pilot house, CIC, and armory will give us complete control over that vessel." Mike told them.

"This goes as planned, the rest of their crew won't even know we're there." Lt Commander Burk said.

"Make no mistake, we're going after a target who's clearly anticipating us and who has a second destroyer we cannot find. Just one part of this mission fails, it all fails." Tom told them all, he let it sink for a few moments before Mike spoke up.

"That is all." Mike told them,

* * *

"Say-" Anna said something to Tex that was supposed to be the correct response in Mandarin. "Repeat that now." she hissed impatiently as the Chinese Soldier's radio squawked for the soldier they had taken down to check in.

"Ok." He lifted the radio to his lips and regurgitated the words Anna told him, she winced which told him that he said it wrong. The radio squawked again and Anna gave a sigh of relief.

"We're good until the next check in. Let's strip him." She said, they pulled the uniform of the dead body and passed it to a Japanese Soldier to get changed into. She stood before the man as he dressed and made him repeat the same words Tex had for a few times before talking to him in Japanese again. The soldier nodded as finished dressing. It just reminded Tex of how he really should've learnt some Japanese to know what was going on but it was too late now.

The Japanese soldier moved into position of where the soldier they had killed once stood. Their plan was simple, they'd used the back entrance of the building which was now open and take out Peng's soldiers one by one until they were victorious. It was just lucky for them that the soldiers were too busy piling up artefacts and art in the courtyard to pay attention to the fact that 5 men on the perimeter had already been killed and replaced with Japanese soldiers.

They were incredibly arrogant in their belief that the Japanese people were too weak to bother with fighting back. They were going learn not to mess with the Japanese people. Anna, Sagara and Tex only had to thin out the herd in the building and then whoever was remaining would be finished off in the courtyard with exception of Peng. They needed that asshole alive so the destroyer didn't blow them away.

"Ready?" Anna asked Tex. There was something sly about their chemistry even though they were on the clock. They should feel like they were outnumbered with impossible odds at surviving- yet it didn't. It felt like they were going to win.

"Yeah, what about you?" He asked.

"I'm motivated to get this over with." Anna said, Tex opened the door to the building and Sagara took point as Anna followed in next.

* * *

"Is that where you've been this whole time?" Oscar asked Jed as he followed his old Army buddy into an old house.

"No, just a pitstop. What about yourself?" Jed asked as he welcomed Oscar's sons John and Andrew into the house. Ravit eyed the men suspiciously ad kept her gun close. She trusted Jed but strangers not so much. Oscar and his sons were armed and wearing vests. Oscar was the same age as Jed but he had maintained a rigorous fitness regime as he was fit, his sons were about 10 years or so older than Ravit. They too had the same physique and posture of men who'd been in the military and never lost the starch out of the backs.

"Working for Roberta Price. Though, I wouldn't say "working" with Price. Me and the guys went to help for a spell. She had some trouble in her region. Riots." Oscar told Jed, he had a semi automatic weapon swung over his shoulder as he accepted a bottle of water from Jed.

"Right." Jed said.

"Said the Army's hands were tied, could I train some fellas to defend their homes? Only the number of fellas kept getting bigger and bigger and they weren't for security, they were enforcers." Oscar said not impressed at all with how things had gone for him and his boys.

"Enforcers?" Val asked, "Is it for the walls or the camps?" she asked them.

"Val, is our tech whiz."

"Ah, Johnny give her the computer." Oscar said, John moved to the corner and propped his rifle against the wall and dropped his backpack before pulling out a laptop. Val's eyes lit up.

"Ooo, come to Mama." Val said in appreciation as she took the laptop and placed it on the dining table. "Thank you." she said to them as she smoothed her hands over the laptop like it was the most beautiful sleek machine she'd ever seen.

"In answer to your question, Regional leaders are building lots of walls which you obviously know about. They want 'em protected with extreme prejudice" Oscar said as he looked at Jacob and Val's crazy wall of intelligence based on what was going on. "I heard rumours about the camps but only that Military Families were being hearded into them. They've started herding the general populace into the supermax prisons." He added.

"What?" Ravit asked in confusion.

"They are clearing out the smaller towns while the President is spouting about the main cities. It's a mess out there. We stole that computer from Price's residence before we had to make tracks." Oscar said.

"He got it!" Jacob said, he came into the room and stopped as he noticed their guests.

"My friends, I'm sure you recognise Jacob Barnes." Jed said not introducing Oscar or his boys' names to Jacob on purpose.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." Jacob said before he continued. "Dennis used a back door into Shaw's work computer. He forwarded us the President's speech. 'In the absence of a legislative branch and without an operational central government, I have decided to exercise my executive powers and hereby suspend the government of the United States, effectively immediately.' " Jacob read, he looked to the others who wore the same expressions of shock. "Oh. Jesus. Oliver is dissolving the country." He added.

"Sounds about right with my theory." Val said smugly, "Which means you have to go to the press conference. If he doesn't give the speech, then he can't dissolve the country." Val told him.

"It doesn't work like that if he's signed the paperwork." Jacob pointed out.

"Doesn't matter, President Oliver cannot give that speech. It's not official to public until it comes out of the horse's mouth." Oscar said, something Jed had to agree with.

"Well, looks like we're going back to St. Louis. Let's go." Jed told them all.

* * *

"I feel like I'm in that movie 'Spy Game' just without Robert Redford which is a travesty." Lena said excitedly as she and Kara walked along the fence, Scout was trying to run ahead and sniff everything as he was tethered on a leash. Kara carried Frankie in her arms; it made her wish they had a stroller as her arms were dying but she persevered given this was important.

"Never seen it." Kara told her, Lena looked at her with complete shock.

"Really, Robert Redford is incredibly handsome. Brad Pitt is boring as dirt but I'd drop anything and everything for Robert Redford." Lena said with a sigh, Kara smiled at the woman as she really knew how to lighten the mood. "So we do this every day?" Lena asked her.

"We all take turns and at different times of the day, so the guards don't clue into what we're doing." Kara told her.

"Hmm, well I spoke with Terrence and Laura is going to fake a heart attack so he can look into the phone system in the infirmary." Lena told her, Burk's parents seemed strangely ok with the whole situation and doing whatever it took to get what they needed.

"Ok." Kara said as she knew it would take an army to pull this off

"I was thinking about those metal pieces for the Morse code machine. The brackets that hold in the washing machine in could be used. We can use the meat tenderiser to flatten them out." Lena told her, Kara gave a nod as she couldn't argue with that option. It wasn't perfect but it might just do.

"It's worth a try." Kara said.

"Have you thought about speaking with your mother?" Lena asked changing the topic.

"Not really, she doesn't want anything to do with me." Kara said, she remembered how her mother started a fight to get Kara to leave her alone. Words were said that still stung, Kara just didn't want to think about it or expend the energy on them.

"Not true, she's just having a rough time." Lena said diplomatically.

"She's always having a rough time." Kara informed her.


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

* * *

" _Misato, you can't come with me. So I need you to stay with Doctor Rios and Kyoko. Ok_?" Sasha said to the little girl as she had woken up and managed to slip right past Rios in the infirmary and found her way to the Helo bay. She was a slippery one. Misato shook her head and wrapped her arms around Sasha's neck, she would've laughed if it didn't make her want to cry. She was going to miss Misato when she had to move on. " _I'll be back in the morning. You'll wake up and I'll be there."_ She told her, as she picked the girl up and rose to her feet.

"You can't take her on mission." Tom said jokingly as he came up to them.

"I know, and shouldn't you be heading off?" Sasha asked him as his team would be deployed soon. She watched Jesse walk by with the flight crew to get the Helo prepped for launch.

"Yeah, just wanted to say keep you head down." Tom told her, he wanted to say more to her but felt such talk tended to jinx a mission.

"On a swivel." She told him, he shook his head at her humour. "Now, I have to go take this little monkey back to the infirmary." She said, he gave a nod and watched her leave the helo bay with Misato in her arms.

* * *

Dennis tried to play it cool while he had a smoke in the designated smoking area but really he was freaking out. He was not made for being a spy and acting in a way that could potentially get him killed. He was not a hero, he was the kind of guy who stood at the sight of car crash frozen in horror while others jumped in to help out. It wasn't an unwillingness to help but the fear of getting wrong and doing more harm than good.

He took a shaky drag from cigarette and nearly jumped out of his skin when a bird landed on the ground nearby. He made a mental note to have a strong drink after today. That and to look for a new job; one that didn't mean being a part of a coup willing to subjugate majority of the American people.

He heard footfalls and turned to see three men and one woman with Jacob Barnes. He snubbed out his cigarette and reached into his suit jacket pulling out IDs and passes he'd mocked up for them.

"Here, take these. The speech's started. The President's speaking from the lawn. It's full of security guards out there. How are you guys going to get to him?" Dennis asked them, Val had told him not to mess around as they were cutting this close.

"He'll come to us. You ready?" The eldest man asked looking to Jacob.

"Yeah. Good." Jacob aid nervously. The elder of the three men moved to the other two and gave them their passes.

"You two go with Barnes. Make sure you keep him covered." He ordered, Dennis looked to the woman before him, she looked vaguely familiar to him as if he'd seen her around the old court house but never caught her name.

"You should get out of here." She told him, her Israeli accent showing.

"What? No way." Dennis said, he knew if he didn't stay Allison and her people would be suspicious. He didn't want to be hunted and frankly he didn't know where to hide or to run to.

"Dennis, I'm serious. Get as far away from here as possible. There is a blue sedan in the parking lot with Arizona plates. Here are the keys, it has a full tank and a map to a safe house which is stocked with food and water. Take it and go." She told him as she held out the keys.

"Ok, Good luck." Dennis said,he took the keys.

"Thank you. For everything." She told him, Dennis nodded and walked away hoping that he was doing the right thing by leaving.

* * *

Anna and Tex dragged the dead soldier's body into an empty room and looked out in the main display room. So far, Peng and his men were smashing glass and destroying priceless artefacts. She despised the reckless destruction of art. They were moving too slow as the soldiers were carrying out crates of god knew what to the front court yard piling it up. They knew it would only be a matter of time until it was set on fire.

She knew it would be faster to open fire and hope they got all the soldiers at once but they wouldn't be that lucky and they were trying to preserve what they could. If the ship in the bay knew Peng was in trouble they'd send more troops or fire on the building destroying everything. Tex motioned out their next victims as a couple soldiers rushed into their room looking for something to destroy. Oh, how she'd enjoy destroying them.

* * *

"This is Vulture Team. I have visual on the Archives. We're at the edge of the Hot Zone." Tom said over comms to the ship, he was hunkered down in the shrubbery waiting for Mike and his team to secure CIC on the ship in the bay. They were still within the 15 minute window but time was turning over quickly.

" _Guards. Two at the door, three walking the grounds. We move through that field, they'll spot us."_ Danny said from his spot

"Stand down. We wait for Cobra Team to take CIC." Tom ordered.

" _Copy that, but Sir, I'm spotting unusual activity inside the building, second floor and to the left. Request you come to my position."_ Danny said over comms. Tom moved slowly through the gardens of the property careful until he was at Danny's side.

Danny passed over his binoculars. "Sir, I think we have people on the ground mixed in with soldiers _."_ Danny whispered to him. Tom looked through the binoculars and cursed under his breath as he could have sworn he saw Tex and Anna.

"What the hell?" Tom said in confusion. "Vulture team, be advised we have at least two friendlies on the ground here. Possibly more." Tom advised.

" _Sir, copy that, we've found three bodies to the south of the building. Stripped of their uniforms."_ Wolf added. Tom cursed under his breath as this was a clusterfuck waiting to happen. " _What would you suggest we do_?" Wolf asked.

"We stand down until Cobra Team calls in." Tom said shaking his head as this was a mess.

" _Captain, may I suggest that perhaps we create a signal? I can use the flashlight on my scope to signal our numbers to the soldiers."_ Takehaya said, Tom weighed that option but knew the risk was too high.

"No, Peng's men may see it. We're going to have to go in blind." Tom said.

* * *

Sasha watched as the light on the lock turned green and the lock snicked open, She pulled the door open and raised her weapon rushing into the room.

" _Hands up where I can see them and no talking! Move away from your consoles immediately."_ She ordered in Mandarin, the sailors in the room all did as they were told just shocked to see their CIC infiltrated by heavily armed American soldiers. Mike, Jeter and Shirahama came in behind her moving into the room making sure the sailors complied to their orders.

"Hands. Get 'em up! Hands!" Mike ordered to the slow pokes in the room. When the man he presumed to be the TAO tied to stand his ground; Mike shoved the barrel of his gun into the man's gut. The TAO complied and groaned in pain as he lifted his hands and stepped back. He looked around the room making sure no one was going to be a hero before he called it in.

"Henan CIC, secure. Vulture Team, you are free to engage." Mike said over comms to Tom and his team.

* * *

"Roger that, Cobra Team." Tom said, he took in all the variables and decided to hell with it. "Takehaya, I want you and your men to call out that we're friendlies and to hit the ground when the lights go out in Japanese. Then we kill the lights. Understood?" He asked over comms.

"Understood." Takehaya responded. A second later, Takehaya's voice boomed from his location, but thanks to the acoustics of the National Archive it was hard to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. Another voice called out the same message. Soldiers patrolling the grounds that they'd feared would stand in their way, dropped to the ground. Tom tapped Danny's shoulder and they proceeded to fire out the lights. Soldiers started pouring out of the building to see what the hell was going on as they heard the gun fire hit the lights.

Tom and the rest of Vulture team opened fire on the soldiers that came out the door. The soldiers who'd been laying on the ground moved their bodies so they were able to fire their weapons at the Chinese soldiers pouring out of the building. Some managed to take cover behind the crates they'd stacked up.

" _Right flank moving forward_." Wolf said over comms, It was time for them to cut a path to the building. They all starting progressing forward. Takehaya helped pull the soldiers off the ground that were their allies. The two conversed for a few seconds before Takehaya pulled on his radio.

 _"Captain, there are three people inside the building on our side, Peng is in there as well_." Takehaya said over comm.

* * *

Mike circled around the sailors they had sitting on the floor. The radios were squawking in Mandarin but from the tone of the voices he'd say it was going to hell in a hand basket for Peng and his people. A new voice came over the comms and Sasha looked directly at him.

"It's the Captain of the second ship." She told him, the same voice spoke again. "He's asking why Henan isn't responding to land teams." Sasha told him, she grabbed her radio. "Nathan James, Destroyer Two is transmitting." She asked.

* * *

"Do you see it?" Meylan asked Lt Commander Burk looking over the man's shoulder in Nathan James' CIC.

"Just a bearing, sir. 1-3-6 relative." He replied, barely enough to help the crew on the Henan or Vulture team.

* * *

"He says if Henan doesn't respond immediately, he'll assume the ship's been boarded and fire on us." Sasha told Mike, both of them truly felt the urgency of the moment as they were stuck between inaction and making a move that could possibly make things worse.

"He's bluffing" Mike said as no sane person would destroy their men and a perfectly good ship for not answering a hail. But then he also secretly hoped it was a bluff as they'd come this far with no fatalities.

"No. We will kill our own to save Peng. Those are his orders. I assure you, we will be fired on." The Henan TAO told him, he then turned to his crew and starting talking in Mandarin which was disconcerting to Mike as these Sailors had a whole other kind of Paradigm to how they worked and lived.

"What the hell's he saying?" Mike asked Sasha.

"He's preparing the crew to be martyrs." Sasha told Mike, she turned away and spoke into her radio, "I say again, the second ship is ordering us to fire on land or they will fire on us." she informed the Nathan James.

* * *

"Bridge, Combat. We need to go active radar. It's the only way to see the second ship." Meylan said over the phone to Garnett. He felt the clock ticking as the second ship was somewhere out there about to fire on their people on the ground and on the Henan.

"Negative. If they're behind island cover, we'd be giving away our position for nothing." Garnett argued.

"But if we do, we could target and kill. Commander, it's the only viable option." Meylan pointed out to her.

* * *

Anna and Tex looked into the room to see Peng with six guards. They pulled back and Anna motioned she would take four and leave him two. Something he didn't seem to agree on as he held up three fingers and gestured to both of them. Anna gave him a dark him and shook her head. He replied silently with his own look of 'suck it up Princess' before he held up three. She gave a nod and he counted down. On the last finger they rushed into the room and took out the guards, it had been easy but only because the guards had been too distracted in destroying the priceless vases in the room. Peng turned around and sneered at them.

"Go ahead and throw the pot." Anna told Peng.

"You are all dead anyway." Peng told them scathingly as he carelessly dropped the vase not caring as it smashed across the floor.

"You are under arrest for trespassing and the destruction of priceless property. Hands on your head." Anna ordered.

* * *

Mike and the others waited for Nathan James to respond but in that moment one of the crew in hearing the persistent warning of the second ship; he jumped from his place on the ground and raced to the closest station.

"Hey!" Jeter called but the warning was too late as the sailor went for the weapons station, Jeter shot the man but the sailor managed in last few moments to fire off missiles.

"We just fired on Vulture Team" Mike said in dismay.

* * *

" _Vulture Team, missiles incoming. I say again, missiles incoming_. " Sasha said over comm. Tom and the others kept firing at the soldiers but even they stopped as they heard the missiles coming their way. They looked up just in time to see them explode in the air.

" _Direct hit. All missiles destroyed."_ Meylan replied over Comm.

"Nathan James, this is Vulture Team. Thank you! Now watch your ass." Tom replied to the ship. They didn't have time to enjoy the small victory as the enemy was still in front of them.

"All right, Let's finish this!" Tom ordered he turned his attention back to their own battle only to find it over. Tex had come out of the building with another man who was dressed in chinese military uniform who was holding Peng by the arm. Shoving the Chinese President forward as Anna took up the rear. They had manage to take out the remaining soldiers who had stopped Tom and the others from getting into the building.

* * *

"They're targeting the James." Sasha told Mike, he looked around the CIC until he moved to the station that the 'hero' had used. He sat down wondering what the hell he was thinking as the screen was in a completely different language. One he didn't even speak or know one word in, but then he looked at the keyboard and idly wondered if the station was designed so a monkey could use it. Much like how the Nathan James CIC was designed. Of course, said Monkey needed the proper training in CIC language and mathematics to understand but hey, anything at this point was worth a try. The keys all had to be in the same location.

So he went off of years of rote training and ignored the Chinese script and typed away. He pressed in the final orders to the computer and pressed enter. He looked to the screen that showed their vessels on radar as well as the second ship. The missile headed in the right direction but he was sweating bullets until the missile hit it's target. He turned around to the shocked faces of Jeter and Sasha and gave a casual shrug.

"It's the same in every language." Mike told them, Sasha smiled and shook her head while Jeter just looked as relieved as he felt.

* * *

"Oh, did we steal your hero moment?" Anna asked Tom as she and Tex came up to him; leaving Peng in Sagara's care.

"Yeah, you did." Tom said a little annoyed but grateful at the same time. He shook hands with them. The Japanese soldiers were all cheering and shaking hands to a successful mission while Peng stewed angrily in the background. They'd left a lot of dead bodies in their wake, but at least they had saved the building, even if there was a lot of collateral damage.

"Well, that must suck for you." Anna remarked drily.

"I'll try to get over." Tom said with a chuckle.

"Good, we also have some good news-" Anna stopped mid sentence as a gunshot sounded followed by another three. Blood sprayed across Tom's face as bullet smacked into his vest winding. Anna dropped to the ground; her face in shock, Tex caught her just before she hit the ground. Tom looked to see Peng laying on the ground a few feet away dead, a gun in his hands. It was hard to tell who had shot him as all the men had their weapons raised.

But soon the attention went back to Anna. Wolf moved to Tex's side and pulled out gauze from his vest and started packing the wound in Anna's shoulder. She looked pale and dazed as her body was in shock.

"Shit, he hit an artery." Tex said as applied pressure to staunch the wound only to have more blood seep through his fingers. "We need to get her to the hospital. Help me." He told Wolf.

* * *

"You look good in your dress Whites." Allison told Samantha.

"It's overkill, though I guess this is a formal event, end of America as we know it." Samantha remarked as they walked out to the steps. Samantha moved to the side and looked out to the small crowd. Government officials and regional leaders all seated in chairs on the front lawn of the Old Court house directed up to the steps. Press set up around the back filming the speech. Samantha hoped Dennis was smart enough to run while he had a chance because after today it would be harder to escape. Something she was painfully aware of given her circumstances.

"Fellow citizens of this great nation. I speak to you today from an unforeseen point in human history. In all of their brilliance, our Founding Founders could not have imagined a day when a single virus would wipe out 90% of not just our countrymen, but of our species. Today, the idealism of democracy is at odds with the practice of government for and by the people. Democracy, my fellow Americans, is untenable. In short, the centre cannot hold. It is therefore my duty to inform you that, with the advice and consent of the regional leaders today, we set a new course for the country. In the absence of a legislative branch, and without an operational central government, I have decided to exercise my executive powers-" Oliver stopped as a familiar face drifted to the middle isle of the chairs.

"Shame on you, Mr. President!" Jacob shouted as he interrupted Oliver's speech. Samantha scanned the area wondering what was going on, it was then she spotted by the cars about 50 ft away two men who weren't secret security. They were hiding but only she seemed to notice them given everyone else were staring at Jacob.. People around them murmured and Samantha's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to do this, Sir. This isn't you." Jacob told Oliver.

Samantha looked to Allison who said something to the secret service behind her. The men started speaking into their cuffs and the others in the crowd towards Jacob.

"The Howard Oliver that we know saved St. Louis. Under your leadership, there was no panic, no riots. Even when there were 5,000 people dying a day, you kept us together. What happened to that man, Sir?!" Jacob shouted as he tried to evade the secret service agents, he slipped back into the crowd of reporters.

"The President will not be taking any questions today. Thank you very much." Allison told the crowd. Samantha moved off the stairs into the crowd on the lawn trying to see where he went. Jacob's words had left a ripple effect on the crowd and Oliver as the man gripped the podium.

"The hell I won't! Listen, Jacob, you're right. For a moment, I forgot who I was, but not anymore!" Oliver said, two security guards started pulling him away from the podium and into the building. "I know who I am!" Oliver shouted as Allison took over his place at the podium.

"Due to the security breach, I'm sorry, everyone, we will reconvene tomorrow. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much." She told them, she was desperately trying to regain some control over the event but with Jacob's interruption and Oliver being dragged away on live TV? Well, it didn't look good. Jacob managed to get up onto a back stage.

"Miss Shaw, where are they taking him?! Is the President a prisoner in the White House?! Miss Shaw!" Jacob shouted, the press ate it up as they started throwing questions at Allison for answers. Samantha was only three steps away from Jacob who'd been picked up by Secret service when gun fire erupted.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

* * *

"Take your goddamn hands off me!" Oliver shouted as he struggled against the hold of the secret service agents. Ravit and Oscar opened fire on the men. They released Oliver and dropped to the ground dead. Oliver stumbled to the floor with them, Ravit and Oscar rushed to him as they didn't have much time to act as gun fire erupted outside.

"Sir, I'm Ravit Bivas. We're here to help you. This way." She said as she helped him to his feet.

"You saved my life." Oliver told her.

"Not yet, we haven't." Oscar said as they rushed down the hallway. Alarms had sounded and Oscar took out the secret service agents as they came into view. Ravit took up the rear making sure no one could follow them. They reached the rear door they'd used to get into the building and found the place was in absolute chaos.

Oscar's sons were under heavy fire from the Secret Service returning fire. They were also trying to cut Jacob down as the reporter ran for their position. He was running so erractically; it was hard to tell if he was panicking or trying to escape. Civilians and other reporters ran through the thick of bullets in fear of their lives. Collateral damage would be high.

In the distance on the other side Ravit saw Samantha fighting Secret Service in her dress whites. But she lost the battle quickly as she was tasered to the ground and pinned by three men. Ravit fired a few rounds off trying to help Samantha but ended up hitting a civilian who ran in front of them in a panic. She cursed and reloaded her weapon and focussed on protecting the President. Samantha was sadly on her own.

Jed, right on cue rammed an SUV through the gates to the front lawn and pulled to a stop. Ravit pushed the President into the back not missing the déjà vu of it all. Oscar stood in the front passenger side of the car and kept firing. Miraculously, Oscar's sons and Jacob piled into the car. Jed reversed the car and sped out of the yard.

"I'm shot!" Jacob said from the boot of the car as John had shoved him in. "I'm going to die." He told them all rather dramatically as he paled considerably at the sight of his blood.

"He's fine, it's just a graze. You're lucky, given it could've been worse." Ravit said as she glimpsed over the back to see Jacob was bleeding from his arm. Oliver sat in the middle seat looking shell shocked as he stared into space.

"Why the hell did you run like a turkey with its ass on fire?" Jed asked Jacob as he sped the car away. They were being followed but it wouldn't take much to lose them as Jed knew St Louis roads like the back of his hand.

"Nash told me the best chance of not getting shot was to not run in a straight line." Jacob said before he complained in pain as John wrapped his wound in gauze. The military occupants in the car laughed and shook their heads. "What?" he asked.

"Yeah, duck and weave a little. Not do a long distance run." Jed told him with a chuckle, needing the levity given they'd had to sacrifice Lt Colonel Samantha Nash. But they'd make certain her loss was recognised and worth it.

* * *

"Peng's only destroyer now belongs to me." Tom told what remained of the Japanese Government that was convened for him to answer to. It was three men and one woman all in suits with assistants standing behind them. He'd been with Anna and Tex when they came out of the building Peng. The man was dead, which meant Tom would never know the full truth of why Peng attacked Asia or who was helping him.

Sasha stood by his side translating; given she was taking longer to translate his words. He had to assume she was being more polite about it. He hadn't missed the temperature of the room. They did not look at him as if he were a hero, something he appreciated even though it left him uneasy. It also made him a little uneasy how Shirahama and Takehaya stood in the room dressed in SDF uniforms looking proud and in control of the room as much as the others. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on and he hadn't had time to ask.

"You should know my people found a payload of anti-cure missiles on board. According to the crew, that's the last of it. It's being destroyed as we speak." Tom told them, he had saved just enough for a trusted scientist to research but the rest would be destroyed.

"So it is done. No other country will have to suffer as we did." Sasha said translating for the woman at the table.

"Yes, there is the issue of Takehaya's crimes against my people." Tom said, Sasha flashed him a look of alarm but translated what he said. The men wore stony expressions while the woman waved a dismissive hand and spoke in soft tones yet again.

"Captain Nakamura and his soldiers were acting under extreme duress, we will forgive the your invasion of our sovereign territory and the betrayal of your country and its' unfulfilled promises then you can do likewise." Sasha told him; speaking for the woman at the table, Tom couldn't help but feel annoyed at being brushed off. Takehaya deserved to be punished for his crimes but it seemed he was completely forgiven.

"He kidnapped-" Tom began to argue but Sasha placed a hand on his arm and turned her face to his and spoke in a low voice.

"Tom, I strongly advise you not to push this. We have no clue what current state of the US's relationship with Japan is. Takehaya also helped smooth over a lot of bruised egos in this room." Sasha told him, he could tell she was worried about him blowing up what tentative welcome they had.

"I apologize," Tom said humbly to the people at the table even though it stung to say as much. "I am hoping that you will allow us to refuel and resupply our ship in Okinawa before we continue homeward." He added.

"That is acceptable," Sasha said translating for the woman yet again. The meeting was called to an end. Tom bowed as Sasha had told him to do so and then left the room with her as they'd been dismissed. She blew out a breath and looked to Tom with wide eyes. "That was intense." She told him.

"They really hate us." Tom said as they moved away from the room towards the foyer where they'd been instructed to wait. Tom had thought Hong Kong was strict. This was a whole other level and with less people.

"I don't blame them, we may have saved them but their people are still dying. The US has sent them no real assistance since Lassiter sent the plane over with Anna and Tex. They are correct, we invaded their country without permission." Sasha said as they'd been briefed about what had been happening in Japan.

The biological weapon was confirmed and while they had a treatment, it wasn't a cure and it was still in testing phase. They had reluctantly allowed Tom to speak with the scientist helping them, the Doctor was the person they'd be speaking with next. Hopefully, they would be able to give Lt Bell the treatment as his condition was critical.

"We saved-"

"Don't argue with me. I know all about it. I was there but this is about saving face." Sasha reminded him.

"Right," Tom said dragging a hand down his face. He looked to his sister who stared off into space. "You know we have to leave Misato here." he told her, he knew how attached Sasha had gotten to the little girl. It was surprising given he figured she knew better than to get attached to victims in their work lives.

"Yes," Sasha said, she looked saddened by the prospect. They turned as Takehaya came towards them, he stopped and eyed them for a moment before he spoke.

"I've been reinstated; as far as history is concerned what happened at the National Archive was a joint operation." Takehaya informed them, Tom gave him an incredulous look as that was not how he saw it. Sure, he and the others couldn't take all the glory but their assistance was being treated indignantly by the Japanese government.

"You are a criminal. You may have redeemed yourself but-" Tom started but Takehaya cut him off.

"Captain, with respect, I had my orders. I was shamed by them but I followed them. Now, my people need me to help rebuild and protect what we have left. I believe that is more worthwhile of my time and labour than sitting in a cell wasting the finite resources of America." Takehaya told them.

"I agree." Sasha said, Tom wanted to argue but decided against it as it was useless. He also begrudgingly had to agree, Takehaya was better off helping his people in Japan than being punished for his crimes. Maybe in letting it go, Tom might feel as if he could be forgiven for his own crimes.

"Now, I am to escort you to meet with Dr Vellek. He has a treatment that could help those inflicted by the green mist a chance at survival." Takehaya said as he gestured for them to go.

* * *

Tex ruffled Kat's hair, she pushed his hand away and frowned at him as they sat at Anna's bedside. "You're feeling better?" he asked, he couldn't believe how hours ago; Kat had been at death's door. Now she was an image of glowing health.

"Yeah, though this hospital sucks." Kat said in a low voice. Tex smiled as he knew his daughter was going to be ok.

"They're doing the best they can." Tex said.

"I know but they look so nervous about Anna's state. What did Doctor Rios say?" She asked, Doc Rios had been flown to the hospital where he'd gone straight to work in treating Anna's wound before doing rounds of the other patients.

"Not good, she lost a lot of blood. But Nathan James brought over a new blood bank. So she should bounce back." Tex assured her, Anna laid prone on the bed, her skin nearly white, she had dark circles under her eyes as her shoulder and part of her chest was bandaged.

Rios had said the bullet hit an artery, damaged muscles and nerves as well as broken a couple ribs on its way through. Rios had repaired the damage best he could but until Anna woke up they wouldn't be able to assess the extent of the nerve damage until Anna was awake. Tex didn't care as Anna was alive and he knew she'd pull through.

"Are you going to leave on the Nathan James?" Kat asked him.

"No, why?" he asked, he didn't need to know her reasons as he saw the relief on her features. She may understand his reasons for helping the Nathan James crew and wanting help people but even so; she still wanted him around just as he wanted to be here for her.

"They are going home and we haven't been able to communicate with anyone stateside. Good sign there's trouble. They might need you." Kat pointed out.

"Yeah, but I need you and Anna more right now." Tex said making his choice. He'd always put country and duty first knowing the rest would work itself out. It never did, at least to a state where everyone was happy. He'd nearly lost Kat and now Anna was injured, they needed him more. He wasn't going to ignore them or his gut that told him to stay.

* * *

"It was never supposed to become a reality. Everything we discussed-" Dr Vellek started by Tom cut off the man midsentence.

"So the Green Mist has contaminated the water and soil which means the environment is toxic." Tom said as he was tired of hearing excuses and semantics of morality. He just wanted clean cut facts so he could get the ship home and worry about the rest later.

"Over simplifying but yes, Immunes and those with the gene therapy can live here temporarily but they will need to relocate." Dr Vellek said with very little patience but the man looked like he hadn't slept much.

"I don't understand why the bacteria wraps around the contagious cure cells." Tom told him.

"It's a food source for them. Whomever engineered this made it so, it's why it's so dangerous to non immunes." Vellek told them, something that told Tom that the immunes were behind it all, but whether Vellek could be trusted? he didn't know and frankly he didn't have the time right now to figure it out.

"Anyway of removing it or decontaminating the affected areas?" Sasha asked with a frown as it was all above her head but like Tom knew that if the scientist who manufactured it was still out there... then they still had a problem that endangered anyone who was not naturally immune to the virus.

"Not that I know of, I'm looking into it. Boiling water kills the bacteria but the problem is that it's in the soil and it can't be killed and scorching the earth is not a viable option given the lack of resources and people to do it on such a massive scale." Dr Vellek said.

"The gene therapy works?" Tom asked, the man gave him a beleaguered look.

"It's not a perfect solution. There will be unforeseen side effects but it should give those in the hospital a chance to survive." Dr Vellek said.

"What about my people?" Tom asked.

"Anyone who was injected with first cure is safe, those who breathed in the contagious cure only should be told to remain on the ship." Dr Vellek advised, Tom looked to Sasha and she gave a nod stepping out of the room to pass the information onto Mike to recall anyone who was susceptible to the bacteria to go back to the ship.

"The injection of the cure and the contagious cure are one and the same." Tom argued.

"They aren't, yes they perform the same function but they are different in molecular structure and ingredients." Dr Vellek told him.

"Ok, so anyone who didn't have the first gen. cure would be affected by green mist." Tom said for clarification,

"Yes, but only because the cure is impeded and thus the patient can be reinfected with the virus. Lt Bell was infected with the Green Mist, but he was also exposed to the virus from your Japanese passengers. So his body is fighting off the toxic effect of the bacteria and trying to fight the virus. His immune system is taxed." Dr Vellek told him.

"I understand. I will need a sample of the gene therapy and a copy of all the research to take with me." Tom told him.

"Of course." Dr Vellek said.

* * *

Samantha sat in the president's chair which was surprising comfy even though she was in immense pain from her dislocated shoulder, sprained and fried body. Navy dress uniforms and high heels were not a girl's best friend in a fight. There was also nothing like having a few thousand volts pass through one's person to feel alive but also truly burnt out. She would've pushed through the pain and kept fighting but frankly she knew being tasered to death was not how she wanted to go out. It was useless to fight at the moment, especially given her shoulder was hanging out of it's socket.

Secret Service Agents flanked her chair, she smiled smugly at Allison who pressed a handkerchief to her face. Samantha had head butted Allison in the face. It was possibly the most satisfying thing she'd ever done with the woman. Allison's nose was definitely broken.

"You foolish woman." Allison told her, she was pissed. Oliver was gone and in the fire fight; Alex and Senator Beatty had been killed. Something that obviously wasn't in the plans.

"Go ahead, kill me." Samantha said in a bored tone. She cradled her injured arm and looked at Allison waiting for the threats and more punishments. She really had no concept of the fire Samantha had to walk through to reach her rank of Lt Colonel.

"Oh no, you have a message to deliver and then you'll be taken to a facility where you'll be someone else's problem." Allison told her, looking smug.

"I'm hurt, I thought you wanted me around." Samantha teased.

"You're more trouble than you're worth." Allison told her, she pulled the handkerchief away and sniffed, she winced in pain. "First we'll get you cleaned up." She said.

"You might want to powder that nose of yours." Samantha suggested.

* * *

"How is she?" Tom asked Tex as he and Sasha walked up to Anna's bed. Anna's bed was tilted so she was sitting up more. Whatever meds, they had her on were strong and she looked off her face. Tom couldn't help but smile as Kat got Anna to sip on some water from a straw; only for Anna to get distracted by something.

"Good, she's just milking it." Tex said in good humour, he took the cup of water from Kat giving her a look of 'let's quit while we're ahead'. Kat chuckled as Anna reached out as playfully tugged on Kat's long hair calling it 'soft and so pretty'. "Tex Nolan," he said extending a hand out to Sasha.

"Sasha Cooper." Sasha replied.

"My daughter Kathleen." Tex added, Sasha smiled and returned the small wave Kat gave her.

"I got shot." Anna slurred as she looked tried to look at her shoulder but then gave up. She turned her attention to Tom and Sasha. "Who are you?" she asked a she pointed vaguely in Tom and Sasha's direction.

"You know me." Tom assured Anna, she quirked an eyebrow and then narrowed her eyes as she attempted to point her finger again.

"Not you, her." Anna pointed haphazardly at Sasha. "You have very beautiful eyes. Beautiful feels weird in my mouth." Anna wore a small smile as she moved her mouth silently mouthing the word 'Beautiful'. They all watched her not sure what to do when she seemed to remember she had more to say. She looked to Sasha. " I've heard your voice before." Anna said with suspicious eyes that made her look like she was about fall asleep until she blinked and opened her eyes wide.

"Thank you, I'm Sasha Cooper. We've spoken on the phone." Sasha told her with a smile.

"Ah, I do know you." Anna said with a smile.

"Yeah, Anna and meds don't mix well." Tex told them, he motioned for Tom step away with him. Sasha moved to Anna's side where Tex had been to talk with Anna and Kat; giving Tom and Tex perceived privacy. "Listen, we haven't had contact with Kate or anyone stateside-" he started in a low voice to Tom.

"I know, we're looking it. We had an intel come in that said they were arrested for being suspected dissidents and transported to FEMA camps. It came in with Flash orders to arrest me and return the Nathan James to San Diego." Tom told him.

"We got the same information from Val except no flash orders. She, Kara, Ravit, and Jed escaped the round up but everyone else…" Tex drawled, the insinuation that the rest were all in captivity. Tom nodded as he was worried for his children and Rachel. It was however a relief to know his father and some people escaped being captured. He just wondered how he'd be able to contact them.

"We're heading back to the states, I could really use you." he told her, Tex looked torn as he looked to Kat and Anna. He shook his head; surprising Tom.

"Sorry Commodore, I can't go with you. Japan is closing its borders. I go with you, there is a real chance I might not be able get back here after. It would mean abandoning Kat and Anna. I just can't leave them." Tex said shaking his head. Tom could see the man was torn. He wanted to help Tom and the others. Kate and Rachel and many others stateside were his friends and by extension family but his heart was in this room.

"We're outnumbered and need the help. Are you sure?" Tom asked, hating that he felt the need to push. Tex was an exceptional operator.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'd be distracted which is worse than me not being there." Tex told him.

"Ok." Tom said with a nod accepting Tex's wishes.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

* * *

"Turns out the Immunes gave the weapon designs to Peng. It was not the Americans after all." Takehaya told Mike as they stood in the Helo bay. It was a flurry of activity as supplies were being brought and severely injured personnel were being transported off. "We will take care of your wounded as if they were our own." He told Mike as they watched Lt Bell behind carried past them.

"I heard there's a treatment for those exposed to the green mist." Mike said conversationally.

"Yes, it seems to be working." Takehaya said.

"You're looking better." Mike remarked, it was true. Takehaya looked a lot better today than he had since their first meeting.

"I was the second to be given the treatment. If I die, then it is no real loss but I am feeling better. Kyoko will be given the treatment this afternoon. What is left of my people will survive." Takehaya said, he looked relieved at the knowledge and Mike couldn't begrudge him for it. The man turned to him and wore a serious expression. "I know it is meaningless to you but I am sorry for what I did to you and your people. I felt vindicated in my actions, that they were right; in hindsight it is quite the opposite. I will forever carry the shame of my actions but grateful for everything you and your people have done for Japan." He told Mike, sincerely.

"We all deserve a chance to make things right. Here's yours," Mike said as Kyoko came up to them. She gave a shy smile as she adjusted Kaito in her arms. She bowed before Mike and spoke Japanese in soft tones.

"Kyoko wants to thank you for all that you've done for her family and for Japan. She wishes you and your family well." Takehaya translated for Mike's sake.

"Same to you both. Look after the little one, they grow up too fast." Mike told him, Takehaya gave a small closed lip smile.

"We need to go, but before I go. Please." Takehaya pulled out what looked to be a business card and bowed holding out to him with both hands. Mike took the card which was half in Japanese and other half in English stating a name and rank along with a phone number. The number was hand written. "If you ever need anything, I will endeavour to help you." he said.

"Captain Kaito Nakamura." Mike said, finally knowing the man's real name. Seeing his ex-captor and torturer in uniform conflicted him deeply. But the man before him was changed, he was not the monster Mike had in his mind. He was equal to Mike, while his actions in past months were despicable- Mike just couldn't summon the energy to be angry at him anymore.

"Yes, just like my son." Takehaya said with a soft smile as his baby son gurgled.

"Look after your family, and thank your government for its hospitality and care of our sailors." Mike added.

"I hope one day we will meet again under better circumstances." Takehaya said, Mike nodded and watched as Takehaya left the ship with his wife and son. He didn't know why but seeing the family leave together was more cathartic to Mike than punishing Takehaya for his crimes. It meant that no matter how twisted and dark things became… there was a silver lining.

* * *

"You're packing?" Sasha said as she came into her quarters to find Jesse stuffing clothes into a small duffel. Misato who'd been sitting on the bunk watching jumped off the bed and wrapped her arms around Sasha's legs. " _Hey, Misato. I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you woke up."_ She said in Japanese as she lifted the little girl into her arms. She soaked up the feel of Misato in her arms, her heart breaking as she was going to have to let Misato go.

"Yeah, well can't look after the kid on the ship." Jesse told Sasha.

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked, Jesse threw her an incredulous look.

"Look, I like the kid ok? She can't stay on the ship and she's going to get lost out there with no one to look out for her. So I'm going to look after her until you finish cleaning up the mess in the States." She told Sasha in a matter of fact tone.

"You'd do that for me?" Sasha said,

"I'm doing it for me too. I'm also taking my helo. The Japanese government needs me to transport their treatment for the green mist around the place and get supplies. For my time I get free fuel, housing and food, just gotta find a sitter for the squirt but it's a lot safer than staying on the ship. You'll come back to us." Jesse said with a shrug as it was all that easy.

"I love you." Sasha blurted, she meant it but she was just so overwhelmed by what Jesse was doing for them. Jesse gave a smug smile.

"Of course you do." Jesse said giving her a quick kiss on the lips before turning back to her packing. Sasha would've liked more of an R-rated kiss but wasn't about to put Misato out of the room to get it. There would time for her and Jesse later.

"If you need a sitter, there is an American by the name of Tex, he's got a teenage daughter. He's engaged to Hatake." Sasha told her.

"Hatake is here?" Jesse asked genuinely surprised.

"Yeah," Sasha said with a smile as they had both spoken with Hatake over the phone. Sasha had a feeling Anna would help Jesse out no matter what.

"Great, maybe I can adopt them to." Jesse joked as she playfully tugged on Misato's pigtail. The little girl lifted her head from Sasha shoulder and looked at her with a smile.

* * *

"Sir, we've been going over everything in the files sent to us. The information is immense, but XO Cobb came across this." Meylan said as Tom came into the wardroom. It was a mess of paperwork and maps. It was not a good sight to Tom given how serious everyone was looking. Meylan handed him a folder, which Tom opened, he looked down a chill running down his spine.

"Milowsky has been released." Tom said, he kept his face neutral but inside he was in disbelief and angry. Angry at the betrayal of knowing Milowsky was free. He thought of the twins and Rachel. He thought of Kate given the man's obsession with her. He thought of Mike, how the man would react. He looked to Mike who wore a passive expression. But years of friendship told him that Mike was barely containing the rage he felt inside at the news.

"Pardoned by the President. They've given him a prominent position at a research centre in Los Alamos." Meylan said looking quite disturbed.

"He's reviving the Genesis Project and something about bio-weaponry research. It's mostly coded and specifically worded to cover their asses but it's clear what they are doing." Mike said bitterly, the reports in the file that he'd highlighted for Tom showed that Milowsky was researching the green mist. That the US somehow had their hands on the weapon from an 'unknown' source which was designated as failed prototype of the aerosolised cure.

The problem was that the aerosolised cure that Rachel had made was a white powder, it also evaporated quickly that one saw a puff of white and then it dissipated. The green mist slowly crept throw its environment like a poisonous fog.

"I don't understand the reasoning of Genesis Project." Meylan said to them.

"It's a gene therapy used to make the body's immune system stronger, more efficient. It wasn't a huge success the first time but the research was lost during the pandemic. Dr Milowsky has been trying to backwards engineer it from people who had the therapy. They weren't naturally immune to virus but they survived it. It's about creating a stronger race of humans." Tom told him, Meylan frowned in confusion.

"The virus kills anyone who's not immune." Meylan said as it was what everyone had been told.

"No, there were those with the gene therapy who caught it, were ill and then recovered. They survived, thanks to the gene therapy. Those who have the gene therapy are also able to survive the green mist. Just barely but the green mist makes the place it lands in uninhabitable." Tom said, they needed to get home A.S.A.P.

"What will the survivors do here?" Meylan asked bringing the conversation back to the survivors in Japan.

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me other to inform me that they'd send our sailors back when they were fully recovered. But for now they are closing their borders." Tom told them.

"That's in insane." Mike said in disbelief.

"Maybe, but it's their choice." Tom said as he wasn't disagreeing with the lunacy of it but right now the Japanese were closing ranks to protect themselves. He couldn't blame them given the world they were living in.

"Either way, our first priority is taking out Milowsky." Mike said.

"No, our first priority is establishing who we can trust back home and get our government back." Tom corrected him, Mike's eyes flashed with anger.

"He's going to use Kate, Rachel and the twins as guinea pigs not to mention numerous other innocent people to test his research on." Mike argued, he was done prioritising a country that preferred to sink into a dismal state. He just wanted to save his family, he wanted to save Kate and their unborn child before she was lost to Milowsky's experiments.

"I know, but we need a plan and right now it'll take us ten days at least to get to San Diego. There's nothing we can until then, so I want ideas, actionable ideas." Tom said leaving the room. He needed to get some air.

* * *

"I'm fueled up and ready to go." Jesse said as she sidled up to Tom and Sasha in the Helo bay. She had Misato on her shoulders. The last of the supplies were coming in and it was nearly time to push off. He'd watched Sasha have to pry the little girl off her and pass her to Jesse. It was funny how the three looked like a family even though they'd barely known one another for 48hrs.

"You're taking the kid?" Tom asked her. He looked to Sasha who looked clearly upset but was keeping it together for Misato. The little girl looked sad even from her high perch. Her face blotchy with tears but her expression resigned, it reminded him of Ashley and Sam. The same look, that said they didn't want Tom to go but ultimately understood they had no choice in the matter.

"Yeah, who else is going to hold my smokes and cherry cola?" Jesse asked him, Tom wasn't sure if that was a joke or not but decided not to ask for clarification. Sasha just smiled as she knew Jesse was half joking. She carried her own smokes, but she might make Misato carry cherry cola for them to share. It was a nice mental image she'd let play in her mind.

"Tex is going to meet you at the Helo Pad on Avocet building in the city." Sasha told her.

"No worries, you guys just stay in one piece." Jesse told them.

"Thank you for everything." Tom said.

"I'd say anytime but I really like not being shot." Jesse said with a grin. "I'm off," she said before she turned and walked away. Tom stood beside Sasha and watched as Jesse with the help of the flight crew buckled Misato into co-pilot's chair. They'd had to MacGyver a harness for the kid. But once she was strapped in, Jesse took off from the deck for the last time.

Tom grasped Sasha's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze as he could see the cracks in her mask. She wore a mixed expression that every parent wore when their child had to be left behind. They watched the Helo slowly grow smaller as it flew further away.

"Sir," Lt Granderson said as she sidled up next to them.

"Yes," Tom said acknowledging her presence.

"Yours and Ms Cooper's presence has been requested in CIC immediately." She told him in a low voice.

* * *

Mike leaned against the table; glaring at the large screen on the wardroom where they were projecting a live broadcast from the US. The room had been cleared of non essential personnel leaving the ship's senior leadership. They'd learn the truth soon but for now, Mike just needed to see this for himself.

Lt Colonel Samantha Nash was addressing the nation from within the President's office, behind her were the regional leaders and Allison Shaw. Nash stood in front of the desk dressed in Navy Dress Blues, she cradled her right arm, her face pancaked with makeup, her hair not right. It all stank to Mike as much as her words and how she kept tapping her right elbow and stroking her fingers up every few seconds.

" _Terror grips our nation this day. The strains of reconstruction have proven too great to bear and have given rise to forces hellbent on creating chaos."_ Nash said, the door to the room opened and Mike looked away to see Sasha and Tom come in. They closed the door and Sasha sat on the edge of the table as he was in front of the screen the watch while Tom stood to the side.

" _In front of live television cameras, agitators breached our walls and tried to take control of this nation's capital. This was not their first attempt. Until today, the regional leaders and I have guarded the truth for the safety of the public. Now it's time you, the American people, learn the facts. There are terrorists working with certain members of the media and with agents inside the government itself, but until today, we didn't know how high it went. It is my duty to inform you that the leader of this radical group was President Howard Oliver himself. He orchestrated the arrest of Jeffrey Michener and those loyal to him so that he could take office and create a dictatorship."_

" _But that is not all. We have just learned that this cabal was also responsible for the kidnapping of the crew of Nathan James in Asia. This was done with the cooperation and planning of Captain Tom Chandler. In fact, I struggle to believe it's true. But we have indisputable evidence of his treachery. Captain Chandler is currently under arrest and is heading back to North America_." Nash's voice broke slightly as if she were choking on her emotions " _These are not easy words for me to say_." She said clearly upset.

"Oh, my God. She's putting all this on you." Sasha said looking to Tom but Mike frowned as he watched Nash turned to wipe at her face but her hand gesture was natural. He'd been so blinded by his anger he'd missed it.

"We're recording this?" Mike asked Granderson.

"Yes, Sir." Granderson said, he looked over his shoulder to Jeter and the others they'd all seen it. He hadn't just imagined what he'd seen.

 _"Excuse me. I apologise."_ Nash said apologetically as she seemly pulled herself together.

"Nobody'll buy it." Mike argued.

"The greater the lie, the more people will believe it." Tom told him.

" _We are strong people, and we have survived worse than this. And those who still love life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have come together and formulated a plan to move forward. So in the absence of any working federal government, and deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, your regional leaders, Price, Castillo, Wilson, and Croft hereby call for the immediate suspension of the government of the United States. Each region will be able to govern itself and focus on reconstruction until such time as a central authority can be safely re-established_." Nash informed them.

"Yeah. In other words, never." Mike translated.

" _By the time you hear these words, control of the Armed Forces will have been split among the regional leaders, and I would like to assure you... that the military turnover has been peaceful, thanks to an unprecedented collaboration between the nation's highest-ranking generals and your four regional leaders. All enlisted men and women are to report to regional military offices immediately to become part of one of four localized armies under the command_..." Nash continued on but Mike was focussing on her non verbal signals.

"Peaceful?" Meylan scoffed. "They are holding the families hostage so the military capitulates to their demands. Bold move." He added.

"It's worked." Sasha stated.

" _Thank you and God bless_." Nash finished.

"Sir, if there's no military, what does that mean for us?" Granderson asked.

"Nothing, nothing has changed. Can we roll it back and watch it again?" Mike asked.

"What are you looking for?" Tom asked.

"It stinks, she was trying to tell us a message. Her uniform is off, her hair is a mess and she was wearing yellow base concealer." Mike said.

"Excuse me?" Meylan asked confused, as much as everyone else as to how Mike would be suspicious of a woman's makeup regime.

"Yellow concealer helps cover up bruises, her uniform was miss buttoned. Her hair is a freaking mess." Sasha said as she too had picked up on the same visual cues Mike had.

"So she was injured and improperly dressed." XO Cobb said.

"No Marine would go one TV inappropriately dressed as she was." Garnett told her.

"She signalled 'Listen' and then a series of numbers when she wiped the tears from her face. She was also tapping out a pattern on her elbow during her speech." Mike added.

"Morse code? I saw it too, I wasn't sure what to make of it." Jeter suggested.

"We need to review it." Mike said.

"While that is being done, let's set a course for Naval Base San Diego, all ahead full. Take us home." Tom ordered.

"Aye Sir." Mike said as he was more than happy to set course for home.

* * *

Michener and the other prisoners watched the news in disbelief. No, he was in disbelief; the others were resigned or completely bored by it. Some looked downright pissed and they looked at him as if it were his fault. He wished he'd stayed in his cell with the others as now he felt unsafe.

"Can we change to Golden Girls, it's better than this shit."

"It's on every channel Gurber, so shut your pie hole." One of the guards told the prisoner, Gurber gave the man a one finger salute which the guards ignored. They didn't care about minor insolence, it was when a prisoner stood up and made moves towards them that they made life hell.

"Well the whole of America are slaves now, Welcome to your Legacy." Benton sneered at Michener.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

* * *

"You see the signally?" Will asked Jed as they had watched the live feed from the old court house. Samantha Nash was not in good shape. They knew a lot of it was just clue in that she sending them and anyone who knew morse code and military hand signals a message. It was a foolish move but she was obviously on borrowed time.

"Yeah, she wants us to use a designated radio wave to communicate presumably with others like us." Oscar said, he turned his radio to the frequency.

" _Attention All Military Personnel, if you're hearing this then the government has been dissolved. It does not mean your oath to this country and its denizens has been dissolved. I know you've all been conscripted into the regional militias. But hope is not lost. Your families are safe in FEMA camps throughout the regions. I know the locations; the regional leaders have silenced me as I refuse to follow their regime. I am not the only one, others have followed my lead. I implore you to follow orders of the Regional leaders until our time comes. Trust in your oath, in those standing beside you. We will all be reunited with our families again. For now, we have to show patience. Our Commander in Chief will not fail us as we will not fail him_."

The radio channel went to static and then the message started to repeat.

"Not exactly inspiring." Val commented drily as it wasn't the call to arms she had expected. But then she never thought they'd all be where they were right now. Howard Oliver still looked shell shocked as he at in his chair staring into space. He was still processing what was happening but probably scared for his family given he was no longer useful to the Regional leaders.

"She's giving them hope and us a chance of not being shot on sight. No soldier will go rogue if there's a plan in the works. Knowing my son? There will be. " Jed told her.

"Your boy is captured and accused of being part of a cabal. You sure he'll be able to help?" Will asked Jed.

"My son would've never agreed to a dictatorship nor would he agree to what the regional leaders are doing now. I know his people wouldn't go against him either. They've survived too much." Jed said firmly, even though they had all expected this outcome; he was still shocked.

"That's true." Val said taking Jed's side.

"But we do have a problem. How are 200 sailors going help us take down the Regional leaders and free the families in these camps all across the states?" Oscar asked.

"They don't need to. It was a bloodless coup, the military is being held hostage because the families are being held in different regions. If the Regional Leaders are taken out then they can't give the orders to the camps or their militias. We have the President, we put him back into power and he can order the camps to be disbanded. The people will be released. It's all about transporting them back to where they lived." Ravit said from her chair.

"It's not that simple, but if you want to cave a region then go after Castillo." Jacob told them.

"Why him?" Val asked.

"He's most likely going to take over Beatty's territory which means he's going to be stretched on resources and time. If you topple him, then you can convert the military back and liberate the camp. We can do the same thing the pirates did, you know how they took over the airwaves. We show the people that Beatty and Castillo's camps have disbanded. America is coming back." Jacob suggested.

"It's not a great idea." Oscar said.

"Why is it bad?" Jacob asked them.

"It would combust the other regions. The regional leaders would start a civil war to get back Beatty and Castillo's territory." Jed said looking to the other men. They were trying to see the situation from all angles.

"Ah, right. So we really need all the regional leaders out of the way first. Then free the camps." Jacob said, the men looked at the man with frowns as Jacob was getting there but obviously not taking everything into account.

"We just can't free the camps without the cooperation of all the regional militias. We can't communicate with them as we don't know where their loyalties lie." Jed explained to Jacob who frowned trying to figure it out.

"Kara's friend said the military would be on board as long as their families were safe." Ravit pointed out.

"One man doesn't speak for the majority. Right now, we need to focus on what we can do." Oscar said.

"Well, we can't liberate any camps. The places are well fortified. We should meet up with Tom in San Diego." Jed said.

"San Diego?" Jacob asked.

"If they are coming back from China, they'll make port in San Diego." Jed said.

"But he's a prisoner." Jacob reminded him.

"You don't know my son or the Nathan James. They got the intel we have, they know those charges are false. They got Samantha Nash's message, they'll be coming home." Jed told him.

"Awesome, road trip!" Val said, looking happy at the prospect of getting on the road.

"Actually, you two will staying behind with the President." Jed told her.

"What?" Val asked not looking happy at being cooped up with Jacob or Oliver.

"We need to keep you tucked away, Will and Oscar's boys will look after you while Ravit, Oscar and I hit the road." Jed said.

* * *

A week later,

"Kara." Zoe whispered as she climbed the stairs to the loft bedroom. She stopped at the top step and laid down on her belly looking at what Kara was doing.

"Yes," Kara said as she didn't stop her work. She just needed more wiring and the phone receiver and she'd have a workable radio and morse code machine. She was surprised how fast it all came together. With everyone pitching in, it had been relatively easy. Ms Miller and Lena had accidentally set fire to Ms Miller's house but they got the repairmen out to fix the place up.

They'd pinched the tools they'd needed from the man's tool bag. Maria's boys were suspended from school for stealing over 20 glue sticks and bringing a snake into the classroom. It was a carpet snake but still the teacher hadn't been impressed. But then they were terrors to begin with. Mr Burk had helpful finding the metal pieces Kara needed for the morse code machine and she had pulled the bottoms out of a couple of drawers to put the machines together on. The fire alarm in Lena's house was no more for show as Kara had stripped it of diodes, battery and screws.

"When are we going to save Kate?" Zoe asked her.

"Not sure, still working on that." Kara told her, her memory had not returned. She was still reeling at everything that had happened. She looked over to Frankie and saw her baby girl was still napping.

"Scout and I really miss her." Zoe told her. Kara looked to the little girl and gave her a comforting smile. Kate had been gone for a week and her presence had been missed by them all. Scout who was normally a happy puppy kept waiting at the door of the house for Kate to come home. He still played and went for walks but when they came home he took up his spot at the door; waiting.

"I miss her too but remember this is our little secret." Kara said gesturing to the set up before her.

"Yep." Zoe told her. They lapsed into silence for a moment before she poke again. "Do you think Daddy will save her if we can't?" she asked her.

"Of course, he's sailing home as we speak." Kara told her, she hoped it was the truth as she didn't know how they would get out of this situation on their own.

* * *

"This won't work." Meylan said throwing the paper onto the table, he was surrounded by Hayward and Nathan James Senior leadership members. They'd spent the past week in the wardroom trying to find a viable plan to recover their families and America.

"You're right but we need to cut the head off the snake. It means removing all the Regional leaders from power including Allison Shaw." Tom said.

"Then what? The President could be anywhere." Meylan said.

"That comm channel is still dead. No one is using it. But we do know that our people have Oliver, and Val is alive so she can broadcast a message from him at anytime. But maybe we should." Andrea said.

"We can't, we need the regional leaders to think we're following orders." Sasha pointed out.

"What we need is a plan to remove the leaders, then a separate plan to liberate the camps. Once we remove the leaders, then we'll be able to organise with the military on the ground to liberate the people from the camps. The real issue is the research facility." Mike argued, he knew he was biased but the camps were well catered and while yes, their families were prisoners; the people like Kate in the research facility were test animals for God knew what.

"We can liberate those held at the research facility at the same time as the camps. But the real issue is Milowsky, we have to recapture him alive. Lassiter's not going to be in a friendly state of mind." Tom pointed out.

"Would you?" Mike snapped. Tom threw him a look of patience as everyone knew the score. Tom had given Mike a lot of latitude given he wasn't getting a lot of sleep and the pat few weeks had been hell. Now his pregnant spouse was in a research facility.

"No, but I think you should be there, we can't afford for her to kill Milowsky or one of our own in a drug induced state." Tom said, Mike wanted to argue that Kate wouldn't do that but he couldn't. Only because if it were him in Kate's shoes, he'd tear the man to pieces. But Milowsky education and skills as a scientist would be needed for the future. He sat forward looking at what they knew, when a plan formulated in his head.

"Ok, Three phase mission. Phase one; we remove the regional leaders and reinstate the President. Phase two; coordinate with military on the ground while a team goes to Los Alamos to recover Kate and whoever is in that research lab out and to proper medical care. By which time Phase Three can go ahead in liberating the camps. Then we get back to reorganising the military and putting the government back together." Tom said.

"Works for me." Meylan said, the others nodding.

"Ok, we'll split up the workload. Bring in both Burks, Green, Cruz, and Taylor. Meylan, any operators you have I want them read in. We'll spilt into three groups. One group will focus on a tentative plan to take down the leaders. Another on mission to Los Alamos, the other on how to liberate the camps. If we have a rough plan in motion we can adapt and tailor it to the situation when we hit the ground in San Diego." Tom told them.

"Yes Sir." they all murmured in agreement.

* * *

"Amniocentesis came back, the results are normal. Ultrasound is normal, but Doctor, I am concerned about the patient's condition. Long term sedation isn't healthy for the patient or pregnancy." the junior doctor said to Dr Milowsky. He smiled at the young man's youth and obvious ignorance. He like majority of the medical staff had one of two options- they either committed to the program or be sent to the factories. Working 14 hour days at a mindless job wasn't as enticing as being on the forefront of cutting science. The food and accommodations at the research facility were also luxurious in comparison to the factories.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. This is the only way to keep her and the baby alive. Her blood work is well within normal perimeters, we're able to treat her anaemia and feed her the optimal diet. I of course would love to have her up and exercising but she's a danger to our safety. So make sure her medication is consistent, we don't need her escaping and killing us all." He told him .

"No Doctor." he replied dutifully as he knew his place.

"Good, now how is Patient 037?" he asked as he started walking the doctor followed him and looked through the notes in his book.

"She's fully recovered from her injuries and is ready for the testing phase." The Doctor told him.

"Let's go see her." Milowsky said, they walked through the maze of hallways before they walked into a laboratory that was used for studying diseases in sterile conditions. It seemed just the ticket for today's test. They stood in the outer room and looked through the glass to the interior room that used to be the main lab but was now a testing room.

A soldier walked over to him and handed him a remote control that was for the small bomb in the room. It was not an explosive but a smoke bomb, so no real harm would come to the patient.

Inside Lt Colonel Nash stood in scrubs. It was an barren room, Samantha turned and looked at him. She walked up to the glass and glared at him. Not the first time he'd seen that look before. He pressed the intercom.

"Patient 037, how are you today?" Milowsky asked, she said nothing instead she kept glaring at him. "I'll take that as a good." He said, he lifted his finger from the intercom. He looked at his watch. "It's 10:03 am." He said in his mobile phone recording notes, and then he clicked the remote.

The small smoke bomb activated and he watched as the room became engulfed in Green mist. He could no longer see Nash but he could hear her struggling to breathe. It was a common symptom of such close proximity to the mist.

"Note to self, reduce the particle density of mist used in the test to show a more realistic outcome of encountering the fog." He said into his mobile. He turned to the soldier. "Let me know if she's still alive in an hour." He ordered, before he turned and walked out the door.

* * *

"We need a doctor!" Maria cried hysterically as she and Lena brought in Sam. They were followed by Rachel with the twins in her arms, and Maria's boys.

"What happened?" The nurse asked as she helped place Sam into a bed. He was covered in a rash and having difficulties breathing. Their medical emergency was real. But the mess of kids and crying twins was just added theatre.

"He's having an allergic reaction to nuts- Manny, Luis stop running!" Maria shouted as the boys were running around the infirmary chearing and making a mess. The twins were screaming at noise, Sam bent over the side of the bed and vomited. Rachel looked to Lena as medical staff in the room raced to care for Sam before his state deteriorated.

Rachel stood back, babies in her arms She tried to soothe them but juggling two babies and making sure the staff weren't watching as Lena moved over to where an old phone box was on the wall. Maria was chasing her boys around the room creating mayhem, the woman and her children knew how to put on a show. They were also destroying the room with gusto.

But it was working, the medical team ignored Maria's children and focused on Sam. Lena came back to Rachel's side and lifted one of the twins out of her arm. She winked at Rachel and they both soothed the twins. They watched as the staff stabilised Sam's condition and cleaned up the mess.

"Ok, he's stabilising but we'll keep an eye on him for now." The Doctor told them. The women looked relieved at the news.

"Thank you." Rachel said to the doctor.

"How are the twins?" The doctor asked, he clearly finished with Sammy even though he was barely out of the woods of nearly dying.

"They are good." Rachel assured him, he didn't like his keen interest in her children as she saw through the sincerity and false empathy. He was just a minion of Milowsky's, which meant he would not let her or the twins leave without a check up.

"We can do their 2 month check up now and do a post natal work up on you." The doctor told her, proving her point.

"I've had a physical. So did the twins when we came here. We're all well, so I don't see the point in it." Rachel told him, she knew her babies were healthy and they were progressing well. She was a doctor after all.

"We just like to cover our bases. Please." He said, Lena shot Rachel a look and she knew it was the 'we must comply'. Rachel didn't want to concede but knew if she didn't it would raise red flags. Worse, she could end up Kate; disappeared to God knew where.

"Ok." Rachel said reluctantly.

* * *

"Thank the world for granny panties and muumuus." Lena said as placed the phone receiver and wiring onto the floor of the loft bedroom for Kara. It looked more like a workshop than a bedroom but they figured it was best to do their work out of plain view.

"I can't believe it worked." Kara said in disbelief.

"It only worked because Sammy ate nuts and put himself into anaphylactic shock. The medical emergency was more real than pinching babies." Lena told her with a sigh.

"He must have overheard us and wanted to help. CNO is going to be pissed." Kara said, glad that Sammy was alive but afraid of what their actions were seriously affecting the children around them.

"Of course, but it's not anyone's fault. The boy just wanted to help and didn't bother to inform any of us about what he'd do." Lena told her, she sat down next to Maddy who was sitting against the wall by the bed with her books. "How are you sweet pea?" she asked as she climbed into the loft area and sat down.

"I'm ok, I think I know it." Maddy said as Kara had been teaching her morse code. They weren't going to use her to send messages but the little girl wanted to be involved and it didn't hurt to have more than Kara and Mr Burk who knew Morse code either. With Kara building the morse code machine and radio in their house, it was hard to keep the girls away from it.

"Excellent, your father and Kate are going to be very proud of you. Learning morse code, going to school and teaching Scout his manners. I'm happy someone is toilet training him as I'm hopeless in getting the pup to listen to me." Lena told her with a smile. Maddy smiled shyly under the praise before her expression grew sombre.

"Kate and the baby will be ok right?" Maddy asked her.

"I hope so." Lena said, gently rubbing the girl's back in a soothing manner.


	51. Chapter 51

_A/N: So just a reminder that I know nothing and pretty much make up what Google can't tell me. Thank you reading this far and please continue to read and enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 51**

* * *

"Physically, everything appears to be well. So how are you general?" The doctor asked after he finished performing the physical exam and checked her c-section incision. Rachel already knew everything was fine but they all had a role to play.

"I'm upset, angry and completely disillusioned. I was kidnapped from my home and brought here, where I can't adequately provide for my children, I barely have the necessities to even leave my home. My stepson, nearly died and you're asking me how I am." Rachel told him honestly, knowing that no sane person in her position would just say 'fine'.

"I understand-" He didn't get to begin as Rachel cut him off.

"I don't think you do. I have four children, two that are under 3 months old. I have a support network of people around me who are suffering just as much as they too were torn from their homes. Isolated from their loved ones, how is this place Utopia when we're prisoners?" Rachel asked him.

"You're not a prisoner here." The doctor said with a smile.

"But we can't leave, my best friend has disappeared." Rachel said.

"Who?" The Doctor asked with a frown.

"Kate Lassiter, she was last seen here. I'm worried about her. She's pregnant and her children need her." Rachel told him firmly. But clearly he'd missed the class on human empathy as he gave her a patient smile.

"Let me assure you, she's fine. Her mental instability was concerning to myself and another physician. We had her evaluated by a third party and it was decided that it was for the best to have her taken to a facility where they can treat her. She's receiving the best care." He assured her, but Rachel was not comforted by his words. If anything she was afraid for Kate, and afraid for herself and the twins. She had to wonder when Milowsky would come for her next.

* * *

A few days later,

"She's building a tolerance to the sedatives." The doctor said to Milowsky, he looked down at Kate. She was laying listlessly on the bed. Wrists and ankles restrained, feeding tube down her nose. She looked up at him with a vacant expression like she couldn't quite comprehend the world around her. She should be asleep, yet somehow she'd woken up.

"Hmm, I didn't predict them happening." Milowsky said as he smoothed a hand over her hair.

"It's not good for her body to be under this kind of stress." The other doctor told him. Milowsky nodded looking to the vitals' monitor for both Kate and the child. It wasn't much of a variance but the longer she went without sedation the more aware she would become and thus stressed.

"Let's change her onto Rocuronium. See if that will keep her pacified." Milowsky ordered, he smoothed his hand over Kate's hair again like he were soothing a creature. "It's ok, you'll be a sleep within moments." He assured Kate.

* * *

"We're babysitting again?" Anna mused as she woke up on the couch to see Misato sitting at the coffee table colouring in a picture with Tex sitting on the floor with her. But he had his back propped against the couch and was reading a book. It was not a rare occurrence for them to be babysitting Misato, not that Anna minded as the kid was cute and well mannered. Jesse had an important job so the least they could do was help out where they could.

"Yeah, how you feeling?" he asked Anna, he looked over his shoulder at her. She smiled as she reached up her good arm and played her fingers through his hair.

"Ok, I'll need my meds in the next hour." Anna said not moving as it made her injury pinch, being shot was a real bitch but at least the couch was comfortable.

"No worries." Tex said, the man was saint putting up with her and looking after Misato. He did it with an ease that made Anna incredibly envious. It also made her melt from how adorable the two were. He was a natural with kids.

"Where's Kat?" Anna asked him.

"She's with Jesse." Tex told her.

"How is she?" Anna asked, a question she was constantly asking as she was still worried about the gene therapy backfiring or not working. She and Tex were keeping a close eye on; just in case.

"Perfectly fine, the gene therapy worked. Vellek said it shouldn't have done anything but it did. He's starting to roll out doses to the other patients." Tex informed her.

"Is it bad, I'm a little jealous of her?" Anna asked him in a low voice.

"Nah, she's got youth and good health on you." He teased, with a grin as he knew he wasn't being kind but she didn't mind the honesty.

"Thanks." Anna remarked drily.

"But that's the way it should be." Tex said before he gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She wanted more but would wait until later as she didn't want to be an educational piece for Misato. It was bad enough the only English Misato knew was 'Cherry Cola' and it sounded like 'Chiri kora'. They were sure she knew other words in English but she mostly stuck to nonverbal communication.

"Where's Jesse?" Anna asked Tex.

"Flying up North. Ferrying people ad supplies. Hokkaido was missed during the attack. So their soil and water supply aren't as heavily polluted by the bacteria in the green mist." Tex told her, Misato rose from her place at the table and walked over to them. She silently turned the picture she'd been colouring to show them.

 _"It's beautiful_." Anna told Misato in Japanese. Tex took the picture from Misato and inspected it carefully before smiling to the little girl. It was of a caterpillar and Misato had covered the picture with many different colours.

"That's some really pretty work there. I love how you colour outside of the lines." He told her, Misato didn't understand the words but she shyly beamed as she understood tone and body language to know she was being praised. Anna smiled at them, wondering what it'd be like if she and Tex had a kid of their own but brushed the thought away to enjoy the moment.

* * *

"What about Eyes Only?" Jacob suggested with a grin. Val stopped in her work on her laptop to throw him a droll look. She pretended to pick up a phone and held it out to him.

"Oh hey, it's James Cameron is calling to remind you that he's got that copyrighted up the wazoo back in 2000." Val told him sarcastically.

"It's cool." Jacob argued, Val leaned back her chair; giving him her full attention.

"Logan was lame, Max however was awesome and incredibly fine. Did you ever notice that his freedom screenings of the news had little to no positive effect on the people?" Val asked him.

"I disagree but the point is we can do the same thing. The President could do messages to the public." Jacob said pointing to Oliver who like the rest of them was struggling to sleep given that they had no clue if Ravit, Jed and Oscar were ok or if they had managed to link up with the crew of the Nathan James.

"No, right now we have to stay under the radar." Val told him.

"We could pre-record some messages." Oliver argued, he needed to feel useful. He knew he couldn't do much to help anyone until the Regional Leaders were taken out of power but there had to be something. Something more than listening to these two bickering.

"And say what?" Val asked him.

"I don't know but I'm sure if we put our heads together we can come up with a message for the people." Oliver said as they needed a more positive attitude.

"The people who are slaves to regional leaders or those in camps who are held captive or tell me what you'll say to Lassiter when we finally get her back. She's probably being carved up like a thanksgiving turkey by Milowsky." Val pointed out.

"It's about restoring hope." Oliver told her.

"Hope for what? everything your government did was a mess and you dismantled the only thing that was working; Lassiter Industries, and then you pandered to the leaders until we rescued you. So tell me, what kind of hope can we give anyone?" Val asked.

"We made mistakes, ones we can learn from and build a better future." Oliver told her.

"A better future. I'll believe it when I see it." Val scoffed.

* * *

"That was a close call." Jed said to Ravit who was behind the wheel. Oscar was in the back; quiet as always. What was supposed to be a three day drive had turned into over a week and half thanks to dodging road blocks and check points. They had to hike through a state forest and find a new vehicle at least twice to avoid detection.

The Military had nearly every gap in the walls patrolled or had a check point set up. There were only a few gaps where the forest or terrain was dense or difficult to traverse. Obviously they weren't considering people brave enough to try and pass through the borders illegally. But then it wasn't like one region was any better than the other.

In their journey they had passed ghost towns with a few people left behind. Those people were deemed unfit due to their age or some infirmity that made them a 'waste' on society. They were left behind to rot but apparently those rounded up weren't taken to Eden as they were sent to work in factories or work on farms. They had run into a man who'd escaped one of the factories, he'd said it was hell on earth as the conditions were untenable and they worked 14 hour shifts for very little food, the factory he'd been in was poorly managed. It had a electrical malfunction which lead to a fire, he'd been lucky to escape which was why he hid in the forest as he'd rather die out in nature than in a factory.

"We're in Castillo's country so we shouldn't hit anymore check points." Ravit said as they had trouble getting into Castillo's region but luckily they'd escaped the soldiers chasing them. They'd changed vehicles and drove an erratic pattern so as to not give away their destination.

"Hopefully." Jed said.

"We should probably stop and wait until dark." Ravit suggested.

"No, drive on, we should hit San Diego by nightfall." Jed told her.

* * *

"No more risks, we're supposed to be under the radar." Rachel told Sammy and Ashley, the two were incorrigible as they held no remorse in their features.

"It was an accident." Sammy said with a shrug. Rachel didn't believe him for second given he'd put himself into anaphylactic shock from an allergic reaction to peanuts just because he wanted to be useful to the 'resistance'. If it could be called one given they hadn't done anything significant to harm their captors.

"You hit a baseball over the fence into the minefield and it was an accident?" Rachel asked levelling him with her best look of 'Do I look stupid to you', her parenting faces needed serious work as this one did not work on Sammy or Ashley. They both looked fairly comfortable with their actions.

"There are mines there which they totally put too close to one another. Anyone who's played a video game knows you have to put at least 4 feet between them." Sammy told her, just proving her point that her point was completely missed.

"Still, it was very dangerous." Rachel told him, Sammy was too much like his father. She was half tempted to say how Sammy had woken the twins from their nap due to his antics. But it wasn't relevant.

"We're just trying to help." Ashley told her.

"I appreciate that, but we're only supposed to be collecting information not taking action. Hitting balls over into the minefield is action. I will admit it's helpful to know that the mines are there. We should leave it alone as it's a weakness we need keep so your father can use it later." Rachel said.

"Ok, but it's not like I can anything more as I've been banned from sports." Sammy said with a pout.

* * *

"Message from Naval Base San Diego... 'Nathan James, rendezvous with tugs, vicinity of Coronado Bridge, Moor port side, Pier 3, berth 1. Rep..." Mike sighed as he really couldn't read the orders. He had wanted this to all be a nightmare he could wake up from but no such luck. Tom took the piece of paper from him and read it aloud from where Mike had given up.

"Report to General Bradley with California United Forces and turn over your prisoner. Thomas W. Chandler." Tom read aloud.

"They have a General running a Navy base? Meylan asked with a frown as they all wondered what happened to the highest ranking Naval members to now have an Army General in charge.

"And what does the California United Forces even mean?" XO Cobb asked with a frown.

"It means in the last two weeks it took us to cross the Pacific, they dismantled the entire military. Just as we assumed." Mike said grimly, the only good thing to come out of it was that the intel they had was solid. It meant they could commit to the mission they had planned.

"Six hours to Buoy San Diego, Sir." Gator said to Mike from his post.

"Castillo owns that base. We're gonna be on his radar in under four hours." Mike said.

"In a few minutes, we'll start scanning for microwave emissions along the coast, find the biggest one, the most people talking. 10 to 1 that'll be their local center of gravity." Tom said following the plan they had pulled together in the past fortnight.

"Sir?" XO Cobb asked confused.

"Von Clausewitz. Center of gravity is a source of strength could be comms, transpo, munitions." Sasha clarified for her. The XO nodded, she was younger than the rest of them but she had grit and confidence that showed why she had been XO of the Hayward.

"We don't just disrupt it, we destroy it, make Castillo show his face, grab him and use him to smoke out the others. Just as we discussed. Let's move the Henan into position and prep the teams." Tom said, Mike nodded as he moved to the Captain's chair to make the call.

* * *

"There's the Nathan James." Jed said as he pulled the truck to a stop on the beach. It had taken them a while but they had made it. They got out of the truck and Oscar moved into defensive position; watching the streets for any signs of trouble while Ravit and Jed moved closer to the water's edge. They looked through night vision binoculars to see the ship on the horizon. It was just big enough to make out that it was an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. So it had to be the Nathan James.

"About time." Ravit commented as they had guessed the Nathan James would take at least a fortnight to get to San Diego as it would have to stop to refuel on the way home. They had been coming to the shoreline the past two nights waiting for them to arrive. They had guessed that the Nathan James would come at night and the assumption had paid off.

"Heading into the mouth of the harbor, Tommy's got to realize that Castillo will arrest him on site." Jed said with a frown as it seemed like the Nathan James was playing right into the Regional Leaders' hands. Did they not get the message from Dennis? He wondered.

"Can we signal them?" Oscar asked them.

"No. But he must have a plan." Jed said, he hoped his son had a plan.

* * *

"No contacts on surface or subsurface." TAO told Tom as he and Meylan stood in CIC waiting for confirmation. Every step of the way home was a test, a test to see if they had safe harbour or if the intel was to be trusted. Tom knew Mike wanted the Intel to be a bust, just as much as Tom did. He kept thinking about his children and Rachel, how they were not safe. Everyone on the ship felt that same tug of responsibility and concern for their loved ones.

"Very well. Let's bring her in." Tom ordered, barely three seconds passed when alarms sounded in CIC and across the ship.

"Vampire! Vampire! Vampire! Bearing 115. Two missiles incoming!" Nishioka shouted over the noise.

* * *

"Oh my god." Ravit breathed in shock as the Nathan James exploded into a fireball on the horizon. She didn't need binoculars to see the flames as the ship was struck again with most likely a missile. Her heart clenched, tears filled her eyes as all she could think of was Burk. She blew out a shaky breath unsure of what to do or how to feel as she felt like the rug had been pulled out from under her.

"No." Jed said firmly. She looked over to him, his face was set in a mask of anger and disbelief. She blinked back her tears as his way was more productive than falling into a puddle of tears.

"Those missiles came out of nowhere." Ravit said with a frown as she knew they didn't come from the shore.

"They were circling. Damn things can loiter at high altitude for hours. James didn't even see them coming but they should have." Jed said letting reality sink in, his son had been on that ship. The Nathan James was the last ship; the last manned Arleigh Burke Class destroyer, he knew he couldn't pretend otherwise. All he felt in that moment was cold rage as this world had taken too much from him.

"What do we do now?" Oscar asked.

"I want to kill everyone who's responsible for what just happened." Jed said.

"Me too. Blood for blood." Ravit said.

"But we do this smart... asymmetrical hits-" Jed started but Oscar cut him off as he spotted headlights coming their direction. But soon they diverted from their path heading further north.

"Get down." Oscar told them, they all moved behind the car and hunkered down. Jed used his binoculars to get a look at who was coming their way. It was a military convoy of two humvees and a utility truck. He looked to Ravit who was looking through her own binoculars at the convoy.

"You see that? Big eyes mounted on the flatbed." Ravit asked him, referring to the truck in the middle that had a large set of binoculars on the back.

"An observation team... Probably out here to confirm the sinking of the Nathan James. They're off to report back." Jed said to her, she gave a nod.

"So we follow them?" she asked him.

"Let's roll." Jed told them.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

* * *

Any sign of the Chinese destroyer?" Lt Commander Burk asked Wright as they stood in CIC undamaged by the missiles as they had hit the Henan. Their plan so far had worked. They were now monitoring the signal of the sinking ship and for any signs of further attacks.

Henan's gone, sir." He confirmed. Lt Commander looked Tom and Meylan, before skating a look over at Granderson and Mike who stood at navigator's station.

They bought it." Lt Commander Burk said looking to Tom, the small victory was that it wasn't them sinking to the bottom of the bay but it didn't change the grim state of affairs before them.

You were right, Sir. They wanted you dead so bad, they tried to kill us all." Meylan said Tom, the sinking of the Henan proved everything they knew to be true. So any lingering doubts anyone had about the information about the camps and America being disbanded into sovereignty territories were gone.

"As long as we stay more than 40 miles off the coast, we'll stay dead. In the meantime, Captain Slattery and I will lead a land team, identify Castillo's CoG." Tom told them, reiterating the plan they had set out.

"TAO, show us the results of your microwave scanning." Mike ordered, the man gave a nod and moved to his station and brought up a map of San Diego coastline.

"Yes, sir. These are the areas with the most activity. That one's not far from the Navy base. Could be a command center." Lt Commander Burk said as he moved to the nav's station and circled an area on the map for them." Lt Commander Burk said, they all looked at the screen.

"Lot of chatter... Anyway we can listen in on those comms?" Mike asked as he was looking over at Granderson as Comms was her strength.

I'm on it, sir." Lt Granderson said.

* * *

"What is this place?" Ravit asked looking confused by the location. It looked like an industrial area yet the configuration of personnel and what was being moved around was perplexing. It was more like the defences were facing inward than outward, like they were trying to keep whatever was inside the complex than worrying about an attack.

"That guy who owned the shop in one of the ghost towns said they loaded his food into shipping containers. Maybe that's what it is; a warehouse, a distribution center." Oscar said as he peered past her shoulder.

"By the looks of all of those "Peacekeepers," I'd say you're right. Castillo's hoarding his stash and doling it out to his people as calories for their hard-earned labour. " Jed said but he frowned as he could see exactly what Ravit was.

"Why don't we steal it back?" Oscar suggested.

"That would be a good plan but it's strange that their outer perimeter isn't well guarded." Ravit said with a frown.

"Well, they are just too relaxed in their victory. It will make it easier for us." Oscar said.

"Army, Navy, Marines, there's even some Coast Guard down there. Versus the three of us. Not the best odds, but we can handle it. Ravit, you and I are gonna scout the place, see what we can find. Oscar; you watch the front... shift changes, patrol patterns, anything like that." Jed said.

"On it, don't do anything stupid like get caught." Oscar told him.

Ravit and Jed moved through the shipping containers on the outskirts of the compound, they slowly split up to cover more ground and Ravit continued on north while Jed went south. She was surprised at how lively the compound was given the hour. It looked like the work never stopped as trucks drove by and personnel walked like they had a fire under their ass. Something was going on, what it was? Ravit had no clue.

She slowly stopped at the final shipping container and peered out to see where she could next take cover. She moved back into the shadows as a truck drove past. Just as she was about to make her move a hand covered her mouth. Instinct kicked in, she used her weight and pulled down and punch back before throwing her attacker to the ground. She kept a hold on his arm pulling it hard as she pressed her knee onto his head.

"Ah It's me. Hey. Hey. Hey. It's me." Burk said in a pained tone, tapping the ground. Ravit pulled her knee off his head, dropped his arm and stepped back. Her hand hovered on the side arm strapped to her thigh.

"I almost broke your arm." Ravit hissed angrily at him, she was relieved he was alive. She wanted to kiss him but at the same wanted to kick him in the kidney for sneaking up on her. She pulled her side arm as she heard movement to her left but relaxed as it was Miller. The big goofball was sniggering.

"Stop laughing Miller." Burk grouched as Ravit helped him to his feet before she holstered her side arm and picked up her other weapon.

* * *

Jed's heart hammered in his chest, a good sign that he was too old to be a soldier and too many days had passed since he was one. He'd finish what he came to do but once he sought revenge for his son's death and saved his grandkids and Rachel- Well he was retiring for good. He paused at the edge of a container and closed his eyes; taking a moment. He turned around the edge with gun ready incase he encountered a soldier from the base but instead he came face to face with his son.

"Tommy?" Jed whispered in disbelief and relief. Tom looked at him just as confused and relieved, he was flanked by three men and a woman, their faces obscured by the shadow of the shipping container.

"Dad?" Tom asked with a surprised smile, they closed the space between them and hugged briefly before pulling apart. Both understanding they weren't in the right place or time to discuss this.

"I thought you were dead, Son." Jed said with a smile of relief. Tom's companions took up more defensive positions as they could talk.

"What are you doing here?" Tom asked him.

"Making noise, stealing food-" Jed stopped mid sentence as he looked past Tom to look at the woman who moved into the light. "Sasha?" he breathed in disbelief, tears welled in his eyes as he couldn't believe his daughter was here- alive and well, she looked just like Peggy but fiercer. He had been afraid he'd never see her again since it had been years but here she was.

"Hey Dad," Sasha said with her own closed lip smile. Jed moved past Tom to his youngest daughter and without thought pulled her into his arms. It had been too long since he held his daughter. Even with the awkwardness of Kevlar and weapons it was the best hug he'd had all day.

"I missed you so much." He breathed in her ear before he pulled back to get a closer look at her. He smiled fondly. "Just beautiful and deadly as your mother." He teased.

"Doing my best." Sasha replied as she tried to keep her emotions in check. This was not how she wanted to reunite with her father but was so glad he was here.

"So someone want to tell me what you're all doing here?" Jed asked turning back to the others and looking to Sasha for answers.

* * *

Samantha laid in her cot staring at the ceiling of her isolation room. She had no idea what was in the green mist she kept inhaling but so far she seemed fine. 'Fine' being a relative term given she was a prisoner and the green mist made her pass out and wake up with a fierce head ache. She knew she should sleep but found herself restless.

So she rose from her bed, and moved around the room. She already knew the room, she'd studied it well enough to know she couldn't escape it. The air vents were too small, there was a window but the glass was heavily glazed as it hadn't broken when she'd tried to smash it with the lid off the toilet's system. There was only one door to the room, there was no handle on the door, no electronics on the inside of the room for her to hotwire. Nothing, the only way out was to get someone to come in, that didn't work so great given the guards came equipped with tazers and came in teams of four.

She'd yet to discover a weakness she could exploit. Well, there was one; when they took her to the room to test the green mist on her. Obviously when she was unconscious was when they got lazy. So somehow she needed to learn not to pass out which she hadn't mastered just yet.

* * *

"So, this Chinese ship you, what, put it on cruise control?" Jed asked Jeter as they were back outside the complex a safe distance that they could talk freely. Oscar had met up with Mike's team and was brought to the same location. They'd been swapping information and Jed was getting them up to speed on how he, Ravit and others had escaped the round up and managed to kidnap the President. But now, Jed was listening to how the James had fooled Castillo into thinking the Nathan James was sunk. It was rather ingenious.

"Something like that, sir." Jeter said in a self effacing manner.

"Master Chief's being modest. This was his plan." Mike told Jed.

"Good work, we have the President safely tucked away. He's on our side, so if you got a plan; I'd like to hear it." Jed told them, Tom was about to fill him in when he saw Ravit come out of the shadows with Miller and Burk.

"Looks like we all had the same idea." Ravit commented as she, Miller and Burk rejoined the others.

"That we did." Tom said with a wry smile as Burk was covered in dirt and looking a little disgruntled while Miller looked amused. She moved to stand beside Jed obviously not pleased with Burk but there wasn't time to get into it. Ravit's no nonsense manner said she wasn't ready for group therapy over it either.

"So, this is Castillo's center of gravity. " Mike said not wanting to waste time.

"Yes, we think it's food but there's something a little off by the looks of guards schedules and formation." Jed told them. Tom nodded as they'd surmised the same thing. The concentration of guards were inside the facility while the outside had a skeleton crew. It made their lives easier as they could move in close and check out the exterior without any real problems. But it did seem off for protecting food.

"We were hoping to find a resistance force." Tom said.

"You're looking at 'em." Jed told him, Tom gave nod; he could easily bench his father and friend but he needed them and while they might be retired. They knew the lay of land and had more field experience than Tom and many of the others in the group.

"Well, let's get to work. Burk, Dad, Miller ... I want you to set a perimeter, motion sensors, bells on a string, whatever we got. Green, Master Chief... Establish a comms hub up on that rooftop. Nathan James is in EMCON, but she'll be listening in. Wolf, Bivas find me a nice, empty building we can drop loudly. That'll draw the bulk of their forces away when we make our move. Mike, Sasha... You're on recon. All right, let's move." He told them.

* * *

"Ok, here we go." Kara said as she turned the radio on while simultaneously keeping Frankie's hands out of radio gear work. Last thing she needed was Frankie pulling it apart or worse eating a battery. Well, maybe it was unrealistic of her to think her near 4 month old daughter would have the dexterity to do so but Kara wasn't taking any chances.

She could've waited for Frankie to go down for a nap but she was too anxious. This was the second time she'd pieced the machine together as the first attempt failed. But in her defence she was going off something she read over 5 years ago. She adjusted Frankie in her lap and wrapped an arm around her middle. Once Frankie was secure, she took a deep breath and exhaled as this was the moment of truth.

She picked up the phone receiver and listened, a grin forming on her face as she heard the static and garbled voices. It seemed like the radio couldn't pick up one signal but underneath all the garbage noises was a distinct sound which was patterned and sounded like morse code.

"Is it working?" Lena asked her, Kara nodded.

"Yes, do we have pen and paper?" Kara asked her.

"Sure do." Lena said rushing to get it.

* * *

"I was out when they rounded everyone up. Been on the run since, lost Kara in trying to get the message to you, don't know where they took her." Jed said to Tom and Danny, they were waiting for Mike and Sasha to come back. Jed looked guilt ridden over the loss of the families and Kara. Tom had already reassured him that everything was ok, that he did his best but Tom knew Jed still carried the guilt of losing Darien.

"What about Frankie?" Danny asked Jed.

"She's at the camps, I assume Frankie was rounded up with the Slatterys and the others. I wish I'd been there." Jed said, he truly did as they had no real clue as to what was happening to the families or what condition they were being kept in. Only that they were being held and well guarded and fed.

"It's ok, you're here now and the intel your friends are gathering will be invaluable." Tom told him, Jed nodded as it was true. They hadn't managed to tap into the signal Will's people used but then it was so low tech and inland for Nathan James to tap in. Tom knew whatever Will's people learned would help them. But he like many of the crew had a bad gnawing feeling in their gut. They all desperately wanted their families.

"Hey, think I found that General Bradley we were supposed to report to. He's the one that we need to lure Castillo out." Mike said as he came up to them. Tom was about to ask about it when Sasha returned.

"Fellas, we might have read this situation wrong. Food's not being stored, it's being shipped. I found train tracks running directly into a warehouse, and they've been used in the last 24 hours." Sasha told them.

"All right, next time a train loads up here, get out in front of it... hit them hard in the middle of nowhere, not surrounded by 100 soldiers." Tom told them.

"If we can get our hands on that food then we can feed an army." Mike pointed out.

"We'll need more than food to sway them but it's a start." Tom said in agreement.

* * *

"It's about us." Kara said as she read the notes she'd been transcribing, she handed the phone over to Maddy to let her take over in case the messages started up again. She looked to Lena and Rachel who were sitting waiting for answers.

"Us?" Rachel asked confused.

"They detailed the guard movements, times and from this whoever in is our area said we're in Texarkana which would make a lot of sense given the weather and how long you said it took to get here on the bus." Kara said to Lena, the messages were in an old military short hand but it was clear whoever was sending the signal was tracking the camp's movements as it matched what they knew.

"This is good right?" Lena asked Kara, she gave a nod as it meant someone out there was looking to help them. She felt herself buoy with hope and relief as there was a way out.

"Yes, we just need to think of what we want to say." Kara told her.

* * *

A few hours later,

Jed sat hunkered down on the roof of a building a few blocks away from the warehouse with Jeter, Miller and Oscar. Down at the warehouse, a long freight train was slowing pulling into the site. It rang a loud bell announcing it's arrival as it pulled to a stop inside a large building. The interior of the building was too dark to make out what was being loaded onto the train but they all assumed it to be food as what else would be stored at the warehouse?

"Vulture team, Elvis has arrived." Jeter said over his radio.

* * *

"I hear you. We are in position. Wolf?" Tom asked, as he looked at the railroad, they'd been waiting hours for the train to come, it'd obviously come down a different track to the one they were on. It worked in their favour as they had needed the time to set up and thanks to the sheer luck of Oscar being able to tap into same comms as the soldiers they were able to discern where the train was going and from that they knew which rail tracks they'd use.

" _We're on schedule. Setting charges at the far end of a won't even see it coming, Sir."_ Wolf reported from further up the tracks with Ravit and Mike as support.

"Overwatch, how's the view?" Tom asked, he was still in slight disbelief that they were actively going to be harming people in their own military and civilians when they derailed the train but luckily there were no towns or large populations nearby.

" _Best seat in the house_." Sasha reported from her perch on a hill even further way than Mike and his team.

"Fire only in the event that we are fired upon as we approach." Tom ordered.

" _Check that_." Sasha replied.

"Mother, get a bearing on my transmission. We may need medivac for casualties once we take out the train. Vulture out." Tom said, he was met with static as the ship remained on EMCON for the mission.

"I hate that silence." Danny remarked as Tom had to agree it was disconcerting even when he knew the truth.

"James will be there if we need her." Tom assured him.

* * *

"Mother, our Charlie team leader is broadcasting. Prepare to intercept and decode." Miller said to the ship as he had General Bradley in his sight line and saw the man pull out a SAT phone to make a call. If there was anything good about fighting their own people; it was that they ran to a finely tuned schedule. The train was already blaring it's horn and slowly pulling out of the building.

"Elvis is leaving the building." Jeter announced, it was now down to the rest of Vulture team.

* * *

Twenty minutes later,

"She's singing our song, guys." Sasha said over comms. She couldn't see the train yet but she could hear it as its horn sounding out to scare local wildlife from the tracks. She noticed the slight shift in the wind and adjusted her scope and weapon to the subtle changes in the environment.

* * *

Tom and the others hunkered down in bushed by the tracks and watched as the train passed them on the tracks it wouldn't be long until the train hit the charge and derailed.

" _Captain, the resource on that train is not food. It's people. They're transporting carloads of people._ " Granderson said over comms. Tom looked at the train racing passed them with wide eyes.

"Shit. How long till the train hits those charges?!" He asked as he leaped off the ground and raced for the truck. The others followed him as they heard the same message. Mike jumped into driver's side and revved the engine.

"We've got five minutes if we're lucky!" Wolf shouted over the noise as they all piled into the tray of the truck. As soon as Ravit was in, Wolf tapped the side of the tray letting Mike know to drive.

Mike tore gravel as he pulled a U-turn and pushed pedal to the metal. He pulled the truck along side the train, it was going too fast for the truck to keep up but Mike did his best. Pushing the engine to it's limit, he manged to get them to two shipping containers away from the train engine where there was luckily a flat tray.

"I'll get you as close as I can!" Mike said grimacing as he knew if he didn't do this right he could end up spinning the truck out or worse any of the team could fall from the truck and miss the train. He moved the truck in closer and winced as the engine lost oomph as the ground along the tracks was too soft to give him real traction. The side mirror clipped the train. The force of the car slowing the train's speed ripped it off the door and the damn thing flew. Mike heard Tom curse and hoped the damage was too bad as he moved in closer again.

"Closer!" Tom said, Mike was ready to shout at the man he could drive the bloody truck next time but did as he was ordered. The steering wheel fought him but as the tires wanted to spin out. He braved a look over his shoulder and saw Tom and Ravit were already on the train. Wolf jump on next but just as Danny went; the powersteering died on the vehicle kicked it and the steering wheel was deadweight in his hands. The shock of it and Mike corrections had him understeering and swerving all over the place, and Danny was hanging precariously on the side of the train.

Mike pulled away from the train and pulled to a stop and watched the train pass him by. His heart pounding as he had nearly hit the train but they were lucky; Danny was safely on the train. He took a moment to catch his breath before started driving after the train to catch up.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

* * *

Sasha watched through her scope as the train came into view, she could see Ravit and Tom heading for the driver's compartment of the train with Wolf and Danny behind them. Ravit was half way down the ladder of the shipping container when Wolf and Danny stopped in their tracks and hunkered down with their weapons raised. She searched out what the cause was and spotted two men with guns firing at them.

She checked on Tom and Ravit and found they were close to the driver's compartment and that was when she spotted a man climbing up between freight containers behind Danny and Green. She adjusted her sight and slowly exhaled as she took the shot. She hit her target as saw the bullet go through his head before he fell back to wherever he came from.

* * *

Ravit was just at the driver's cab whe the door opened and a man came out holding a gun. She parried the gun to the side as it went off and punched the man in the nose before she wrenched the gun from his hand. She used his weight against him and moved past him as she threw him to the ground. She didn't bother worrying about him as she moved into the cab with the gun she took from the soldier.

She had no clue how much time she had, so when she went into the cab she shot the man in the head without hesitation and moved to the panel marked 'Emergency Brake Valve ' and pulled the red lever. The train lurched and a terribly metal squealing sounded as the train painfully and slowly pulled to a stop. She looked out the front window and gave an exhale of relief as they were barely a foot away from where the charges had been set.

She moved out of the cab to see Tom subdue the soldier to the ground. He looked up at her. "You ok?" he asked.

"All good." She assured him.

* * *

"Ok, that's it." Kara said as she finished tapping out the morse code message. The women all shared a look wondering if it had gone through, wondering if whoever was out there had heard them. Would they believe them. She'd sent out an SOS with her initials and service number and Nathan James's hull number of DDG 151. Hopefully they would understand and if they knew she was with the Nathan James they'd be able to verify her identity. Fingers crossed.

"The signal's gone quiet, nobody is saying anything." Maddy told them as she was still listening on the phone.

"Give it time, we'll repeat the message in an hour until we get a response." Kara said.

"But what if the people on this base hear the message?" Lena asked her.

"I don't think the enemy is thinking of monitoring low tech frequencies. If anything they probably think they've won. So they won't be bothered checking for us." Kara told them.

* * *

"I need to see hands... everybody's hands." Wolf said to the military personnel that they'd pulled off the train. Tom walked by them noting their expressions of disbelief and for some actual relief. He moved to General Bradley who was standing with Ravit. The man was looking stubborn and yet torn with was conflicting for Tom as he couldn't relate to the man at all.

"Open it." Tom ordered.

"Open it yourself." General Bradley told him. Tom looked to Mike and they moved to the container and undid the bolts and opened the door what he saw in that moment would stay with Tom forever. Inside were small children and adults of all ages but they were filthy, their clothes well worn and their features gaunt like they hadn't eaten in months. They all shied away from the sunlight, wincing at the brightness and looking utterly confused. The children looked terrified.

"You can come out." Tom told them, he could feel the shock of his team members as they couldn't believe the sight before them either. It felt like they'd awoken in some kind of nightmare as this kind of treatment went against every principle they served for.

The people inside looked at him with suspicious and he could hear them murmuring words like 'why?' and 'is this a test?'. He wondered what hell these people had come from and was he really in America.

"It's safe now. You're free." He said as he moved to the open door to help them out.

"W-What do you mean?" one of the people in the compartment asked.

"You're not slaves. You don't have to go where these people tell you to. You don't have to work where they tell you to." Tom told them, he wondered how plainer he had to make it to them.

"You mean we won't get fed?" one of them asked, he watched as the children disappeared into the back; out of sight.

"We are the lucky ones." One of them said, it was a woman in her 40s "There's food at the other end of this line. They said they'd feed us. We were promised food." She told him, tears streaked down her face as if he was a monster to take that away from them. "Please, my kids haven't eaten in three days. I can't remember—" she stopped and shook her head as she looked a little woozy."Please, just let us go on our way." She begged him.

"Yeah, just close the door! Let us go, please. Just close the door." A man begged and similar pleas followed from the others as they begged for Tom to shut the door.

"Welcome to the new America, Captain." General Bradley said snidely, Tom ignored him as Mike took the words out of his mouth.

"New America, my ass." Mike said in disgust.

"Look, I know these times are rough, believe me, but there's another way. None of you are going to starve. We can get things back to the way there were if you just come with us. There's enough food on this very train to keep us all fed for at least a few days even longer if we ration it. Let us help you." Tom implored.

"And after that? then what?" one of the woman asked incredulously.

"After that?" Tom repeated, he didn't know how to answer instead he stepped away and turned to the General. He stalked up to the man and glared at him. "General, or whatever the hell you're called, tell the men and women under your command to stand down." Tom ordered.

He ignored everything else but this man, as he knew Ravit and Mike would somehow coax the people off the train. He could hear Ravit's soft tones as she spoke to the people on the open container.

"If you think you can get them back, why don't you go ahead and try?" General Bradley told him bitterly. He truly didn't believe Tom or anyone could save the people and America. He like the people in that container were disillusioned.

"What the hell were you thinking? You took an oath!" Tom told him angrily as he ripped off the General's stars and the patch showing his allegiance to Castillo.

"To what? To what?!" Colonel Bradley exclaimed.

"To the service! The country!" Tom shouted at him.

"Captain, the thing I swore an oath to, it's gone! It was torn up two weeks ago. I might as well swear an oath to the tooth fairy." He sneered at Tom, he gave an indignant sniff as he was not intimidated at all by Tom. "You have your family taken to Los Alamos because you don't play ball and you listen to their screams then you can stand in judgement of me."

"My family is in one of those camps. I'm here fighting my country, something you should be doing!" Tom told him.

"You should fucking wake up. The war was lost. " General Bradley told him in a defeated tone.

"The war has barely begun." Tom told him in a low voice.

* * *

"Hey, read this." Will told Val as he handed her a piece of paper. She took the paper and frowned as the writing was illegible.

"What does this say?" Val asked.

"It's a message." Will told her.

"It's practically in a second language." Val told him as all she could make out were the numbers and even then they were suspect.

"SOS, KFG 5630022992 DDG151. DDG 151 is a hull number of a ship." Will told her.

"Of the Nathan James." Jacob pointed out.

"What is a KFG?" Val asked Jacob as he seemed to be knowledgeable on the subject and grating on her nerves.

"Well, that serial number. KFG might be the initials of your friend unless she spells Kara with a C." Will told her, Val looked at him for a moment and thought over it before it truly dawned on her.

"Kara? Oh my god, yes, it's got to be her. But it could be a trick. We need a question only Kara would know the answer to." Val told them.

"Why? it's got to be a hoax." Jacob pointed out.

"Or Kara has been taken to where the families are. This is her getting out a signal." Val argued.

"They wouldn't let her go." Jacob told her.

"Duh, she's in a prison camp." Val said mockingly as she opened up a file she kept on the Nathan James crew. She looked to Will. "Tell me that number again." she said, she wanted to verify the serial number but also give her brain time to think of question to reply with.

* * *

"Here, it's a little big but it'll keep the sun out." Mike pulled his cap off and placed it on the little boy's head, he couldn't have been older than Zoe. He was near skeletal and looked at Mike like he was an ogre. "It's ok," he said, the boy was reticent but stepped forward and Mike reached into the container and lifted him out. He felt the fragility of boy and was disgusted that anyone in power would let children be starved. He placed the boy on the ground and he looked around lost.

"Come on, food and water over this way. Go on, it's ok; everyone's getting a meal." He assured the people, the boy looked up at him and Mike gestured for him to go with the others. "It's ok." He assured the boy, the kid looked to where the others were walking and started to follow.

Mike watched him walk over to a bunch of other kids and pulled on his radio. "Nathan James, be advised... We have dozens of malnourished citizens who need medical attention and a full complement of unaffiliated military... Have Doc prep helo bay 1 for triage." Mike said over the radio to Nathan James, he turned to Ravit who was helping the remaining people out of container and moved to help her.

* * *

"Captain, we're monitoring a microwave signal that's being received by a device at your location." Granderson said over comms. Tom looked down at the SAT phone in his hand that was ringing.

Who's calling?" Tom asked Granderson, it wasn't like it had caller ID to help him out as he glared at General Bradley and the soldiers under his command. He knew they had their reasons but still felt disillusioned by their betrayal to their oath.

Signal emanates from an area of high microwave origination north of Los Angles." Granderson said, Tom held the phone out to General Bradley.

"It's your boss. Tell Castillo you want to see him. You thought you had no choice. Well, you have a choice now. Let's take him down together." Tom told him.

"You have no idea of the ramifications of your actions."

"We have a plan that involves getting everyone's families back, and restoring a balance where there is none. You have a choice, now make it." Tom said, General Bradley snatched the phone out of his hand and punched the keypad to answer.

"Mr. Castillo. Yes. Sir, there's been an... an incident with the train." General Bradley said carefully as he looked up at Tom. "No, sir, the cargo is intact, but..." he paused as Castilllo shouted down the phone at the man loud enough for everyone to hear him. "Yeah, I just think you better come down to the depot. Yes, sir. I'll meet you there. " He said, he hung up phone and passed it back to Tom. "You're gonna have to kill him, you know." He said.

We don't work that way. We'll give him his chance to surrender." Tom told him, he sensed the change in the man and his subordinates as they clearly feared Castillo's reach in regards to their families. Tom wanted to reassure them that they had a plan but at the moment couldn't bring himself to trust them.

No, no, no. Listen to me." General Bradley implored "You have to kill this guy. If you don't, he's gonna kill every one of us. Starting with our families." General Bradley told him.

* * *

A few hours later,

Tom and Mike exchanged looks as phase one wasn't going exactly to plan. They had all returned to the warehouse district after they'd had the Helo airlift majority of the children and adults that needed medical assistance to the ship. The rest were driven back to the warehouse and were currently being care for by the military on the base.

Once Rios cleared the civilians on the ship, they'd be brought back to land and then Tom would move onto Phase Two. But for now they needed Castillo in custody and to somehow re-enlist the unaffiliated military personnel on the base back to America. They needed them back to their side, as they needed them to help with the next phase.

So here they stood waiting for Castillo to arrive. "Incoming." Sasha said over comms, as she was perched on a rooftop overseeing the entrance to the warehouse district. Tom heard the sounds of the cars coming in and pulling to a stop. The sounds of doors opening followed and Tom peered through the windows of the humvee to see an impatient Castillo move towards General Bradley.

"Well, what happened? Where's my train, General?" Castillo demanded as he looked General Bradley who remained silent. It annoyed Castillo to no end as the man tugged on his shirt sleeves as if preening his sophisticated ensemble suit. "Today is not the day to screw with me." he told him darkly, he gave General Bradley a chance to answer and after a couple seconds gave up and walked back to car. "Shoot him!" he ordered.

"He doesn't work for you anymore." Tom said as he and Mike moved out from behind the Humvee.

"I changed my mind. Shoot him instead." Castillo ordered pointing at Tom, the men moved for their weapons but stopped as bullets ricocheted off the ground close at their feet. A courtesy warning from Sasha; one that Castillo's personal security headed.

"I suggest you put down your weapons." Mike told the men, they slowly placed their weapons on the ground.

"Lieutenant Burk, please arrest Mr. Castillo and prepare him for transport to back to the James." Tom ordered.

"With pleasure, Sir." Burk said as he moved to Castillo with plasti-cuffs. Castillo didn't bother to physically fight Burk or his arrest but instead used his words.

"I made you a goddamn General! Have you forgotten who feeds you, your families?! This man will take the food from their mouth to give it to the..." Castillo grunted in pain as Burk pulled the cuffs on tight and fast enough to catch the man's skin in the process.

"Sorry. This too tight?" Burk asked rhetorically, Castillo glared at him, "Good." He added before he placed a hand on Castillo's back and pushed him to move forward. Once Castillo was out of sight and the soldiers detained Castillo's personal security Tom looked General Bradley.

"So, I take it I answer to you now, CNO?" General Bradley asked sarcastically, Tom knew the man's insolence came from a place of pain. All the people on this base that wore the uniform had been hostages to Regional Leaders- to Castillo and it had grated on them all.

"No. You answer to President Howard Oliver, just like I do." Tom told him as he dialled the number his father had given him for the SAT phone in Val's possession. He knew once General Bradley heard Oliver's voice, heard the man's words and how up to speed he was on what was happening that they could swing every person in this territory wearing a uniform to their side.

"He's gone." General Bradley scoffed.

"He's alive and in a safe place on this end of this phone. He wants to speak with you. But you should know we have a plan, it's a solid one but we can't do it alone; we need every brother and sister in arms that we can get into this fight at our side." Tom told him as he held out the phone to General man took the phone out of his hand.

"General Bradley speaking." He said, his features froze as he recognised the voice on the end of the phone. Tom knew in that moment they had won the man over, he looked at the faces of men and women in uniform who held their breath in that moment. They were all probably wondering what their fate would be, what would happen to their families but Tom knew that just like the crew of the Nathan James; they had trust in General Bradley. Whatever General Bradley decided would sway them all.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

* * *

"They are in Price's region." Jed told Tom, as he, Tom, Mike and General Bradley stood in General Bradley's office trying to get some sense of how to move forward. Part of it was understanding the intricate relationship between the regions. They lorded over their regions using the military and their own private security forces. But from General Bradley's help, they learnt no region was self sufficient. They all were co-dependent on one another for resources.

"How close is he to Little Rock Airfield?" General Bradley asked, the trust between them was tenuous but Tom knew they needed to trust someone who'd been on the ground and knew the lay of the land in real time. He despised the man for his actions but had to let go it for everything to work. Tom learnt the man like majority of the military personnel had jumbled up and transferred from their posts into different regions.

"Close." Jed said carefully, there was a map of the regions on the wall, along with locations of active cities, food warehouses and factories as well as accepted travel inroads between the regions. General Bradley moved to the map and pointed to map where the Air Force base was.

"It's been mothballed, are any of your people pilots? Because they could easily commandeer a plane and fly it out." Bradley asked.

"What would stop the plane from being shot down?" Mike asked sceptical of this plan. It was safer to keep the President where he was instead of flying him out and making him mingle with the masses.

"They fly below radar, and we send out a morse code message to ignore the plane on the channel Lt Colonel Nash informed us to use in her message. It's active ever since her message. We thought we could find our families, if we could remove the threat then we could fight back but wherever they are; it's a well kept secret. So we've stayed in contact waiting for something. I guess you're it." General Bradley told him. He gave a huff of resignation as he wanted to believe in the cause but still had to live with what he done in the past few weeks. He also had to live with the loss of his wife.

"The fight isn't over until we're dead." Mike told him.

"It's easy for you, you were away from the US, untouched by everything that happened. But I've been corrected, I also can tell you anything you need to know about Los Alamos which I recommend you shut down immediately." He told them.

"We know about it and it's on the docket." Tom assured him.

"No, you need to secure it, once Price smells blood in the water she'll cross the border to secure the site with her private militia who are highly paid mercs. They won't be swayed by speeches about man and country. That site has biological weapons, stored nuclear weapons and a lot of dangerous shit. Castillo only had it in his possession because he and Price had a skirmish over it during the Pandemic. Castillo came out on top because of his allies in South America. He had more bodies to throw at it than Price." Bradley told him.

"We're going to step part of Phase 2." Tom remarked, he looked to Mike, who looked relieved to know he could go after Kate sooner. He then looked General Bradely. "I want you to pass on everything you know to Lt Green and Ms Cooper. Formulate a plan and also a list of soldiers best qualified to hold down the lab when we've secured it." Tom told the man, he gave a nod.

* * *

Val chuckled as Will told her Kara's answer to the question they'd sent. There seemed to be a long lag between when they sent the question to when they received an answer. Though, Val could understand as she'd asked Kara what Alisha had given Val as a present for her birthday. Val knew that only Kara, Alisha, herself and the sales person knew the answer to that.

"So it's her?" Will asked with a bemused expression as it wasn't everyday someone spelt out a sex toy in Morse code down to its name, colour and measurements.

"Yep." Val said with a grin. She was just so happy to know Kara was alive and not tied up being tortured or worse dead. She was hopefully with the rest of the Nathan James family which was what they were learning when John came into the room.

"Come on, we're all flying to San Diego." John told them, Oliver and Jacob looked at him from the lounge with a frown. Will and Val just looked confused as they knew John had been talking with the others in San Diego.

"I ain't going. I don't fly, that is for the birds." Will informed him.

"I have better access to the old court house as well as the satellites from here which is serving as a mid point for all comms." Val said as she knew it probably safer in San Diego, she had finally set herself up and was afraid moving would disturb all her work. She was using her backdoor into White House servers to see what was going on and taking notes to pass onto the Nathan James crew. She also knew the radio Kara had wasn't going to reach San Diego, so she wasn't ready to leave Kara and the others in the dark.

"I'm happy to go." Jacob said.

"Ok, the girl and I stay. You four go while we'll stay and keep working." Will told them.

"You sure?" Oliver asked, Val and Will exchanged a look and nodded. She pulled the thumb drive out of her computer for which she'd been loading up intel on.

"Yeah, and give this to Captain Chandler. It's everything they need on the Regional leaders to take them down thanks to Shaw. She kept dossiers on them all, I guess just in case she had to get rid of any of them quietly." Val said as she handed a thumb drive to Oliver.

* * *

"Can we really trust him?" Mike asked Tom as they were back in Nathan James and walking to the Gym to grill Castillo for everything he knew. Mike figured it'd be easy given the man hid behind his guards than pulling the trigger himself. He was also on edge as they wanted to talk with Castillo before Mike jumped on a plane to Los Alamos. He was less than 2 hours away from getting Kate back.

"We have to, you'll head the mission with Sasha, Ravit, Cruz, Miller and Taylor. You'll leave as soon as we got the President in the air. You'll secure the base, leave General Bradley's men in charge as I need you and the teams fluid for when we take down the regional leaders. As it will be easier for you to move into Price and Shaw's territories from there." Tom told him.

"I'd prefer to stay with Kate." Mike said feeling protective of her, the whole reason he was allowed to be in this mission was due to the fact that Kate had a bad habit of killing people when she wasn't in a safe environment and drugged up. He felt his heart constrict as he thought of her and their unborn child. Even so, he was still torn as he worried about his daughter and mother in a camp. His life was in a never ending limbo of missions and having his family in some kind of turmoil. It was tiring.

"I would too but we may not have that option." Tom said before he opened the door to the Gym where they had been holding Castillo.

"Tom Chandler. Saved America from the virus, and they loved you for it. Then they got hungry. They miss things like heat, clean water, and Wi-Fi. They don't have any time for heroes now. So do your victory dance, and when the filthy masses turn against you, give me a call. I'll show you how to keep them in line. But I will never cooperate." Castillo promised him, the man was tied to a chair and utterly defeated yet he was so delusional to believe this was a temporary state for him. Mike felt sorry for the man but only for 2 seconds as he really wanted to smack the smirk off the man's face.

"Here's the deal, Manuel... From here on out, you no longer get to decide what you will and will not do. See, you had the chance to kill me, again, and you blew it... again. So you will cooperate." Tom told him.

"And why is that?" Castillo asked not scared of Tom or Mike at all; something that was surprising given most people tended to be put off by them.

"Your army turned on you without a shot fired." Tom told him.

"Hmm once your partners find out you lost control of your region and Beatty's…" Mike blew out a breath and shook his head. "It won't be pretty." He told him.

"They will cut you out like the cancer you are. And let's not underestimate the "filthy masses." Once they hear what you're really about, you'll need more than an army to keep them in line. But we can always drop you back off at the depot, see for ourselves." Tom added.

"Go ahead, my Army is just waiting for my return. I own them." Castillo told them, firmly.

"Actually, you have no leverage over them. We liberated their families and we know the locations of the other camps where the military families are being held. Their loyalty is with President Oliver, and soon the rest of the military will follow. So right now you should start cooperating with us." Tom told him.

* * *

A couple hours later,

"According to the map given to us thanks to Val and General Bradley- all the patients are being held in this building." Mike said pointing to the map they had on the table. They were in some abandoned house only 20 minutes away from the Los Alamos. It was a small team of marines from Bradley's base, Mike, Sasha, Ravit, Miller, Cruz, Rios and Taylor from the Nathan James.

"Luckily for us, IR Satellite imagining suggests only two buildings are operational. Given the low density of heat at the moment in the second building it would suggest it's warehouse. Cobra and Scorpion team will focus on securing the exterior of buildings while Vulture team breach the main building." Sasha said.

"From the roster we have there should be a total of 40 private security officers on shift and 20 medical staff including Dr Milowsky." Cruz said.

"Our goal is to secure the building and preferably with minimal casualties." Mike told them.

"All the patients have to remain in their rooms until they've been assessed. So I will assess them on site before I approve their release and have them transported to San Diego." Rios told them, his presence made Mike nervous as he was the only one who would be able to read the medical charts and make sense of what's going on.

"Let's go." Mike told them.

* * *

Samantha moved to the toilet and blocked the camera's view as she lifted the lid off the cistern system of the toilet. She reached in and detached the lift rod from the flapper and handle. She looked at the wet wire in her hand and smiled, she pulled it so it was straightened and turned around to the camera giving them a perfect view.

She pushed the steel wire to her wrist and dragged it up. She knew if she acted this just right, they'd believe she was committing suicide. It was just want she needed as a distraction to get out. So she leaned forward and gritted her teeth as the pointed edge dug into her flesh; deep enough for her to start bleeding but only superficially. Not like the men watching would know the difference.

She slumped to the floor in her performance and waited for the guards to come. It didn't take long, she smiled as the door to her room opened and the sounds of footfalls rushed in. She stayed prone until a hand touched her shoulder and turned her over. She immediately counted the men in the room three guards, a doctor and nurse. She pulled the doctor who had been trying to help her down. Surprised the man was easily toppled as he felt onto her. The guards panicked not expecting a fight and one fired his taser hitting the doctor.

An alarm sounded just as Samantha expected, but there was no lock down on the building yet. So, she had time. She pushed the doctor off and got to her feet and shoved the nurse at the two guards. In the attempt to move the woman out of danger, Samantha took the time to swipe the doctor's badge and punched the first guard in the nose before she kicked the second in the nuts. He fell over into the open doorway, Samantha dodged the taser of the third guard and jumped over the guard in the doorway.

The nurse screamed and huddled into corner as the third guard threw his taser away and held up his fists ready to fight. Samantha looked at his stance and wondered what kind of soldier this man was. He attacked first, she ducked under his right hook and sucker punched him in the gut as she straightened, she then punched him in the face knocking him out cold. She turned to the Nurse.

"Where is Lassiter?" She demanded as she searched the guards for weapons and only got an unused taser from the second guard.

* * *

"Looks like something is going on down there." Sasha remarked as there was a lot of guard movement and an alarm had sounded. It was loud enough to alert anyone in a couple miles of the place. They had only arrived 5 minutes ago when the alarm had gone off. They thought they were the reason but no one was coming their way.

"Let's use it to our advantage." Mike said, he gave the order for them to proceed.

* * *

"What's wrong with her?" Samantha demanded as she pushed the nurse into the room where Kate was held. Kate laid on the bed completely prone with her wrists and ankles restrained. She had tubes running in and out of her body, Samantha didn't know what to make of it.

"Nothing, she's sedated." The nurse told her.

"Wake her up." Samantha demanded.

"I can't, I'm not qualified." The nurse told her, Samantha narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"You're lying to me." she said, the nurse shook her head, she paled but then looked relief as Samantha turned to see Milowsky with a lot of guards. They were taking no precautions as these men carried guns.

"That's because she's stalling." Milowsky told them, he walked into the room as guards came in and surrounded them. "It was a valiant try on your part Lt Colonel Nash." He added as he walked to her, Samantha glared at him as he was one sick asshole. But anger and revulsion was a powerful emotion as he reached out to touch her, she grabbed the pen in his coat pocket and stabbed Milowsky in the neck. She moved behind him, keeping her hand on the pen while the other twisted his arm behind his back.

"I would tell them not to shoot as the pen is in your jugular. It wouldn't be good for me to pull it out." Samantha said loudly for everyone to hear. She stared coldly at the guards surrounding them; their weapons raised and ready for their orders.

"Don't shoot." He gasped in pain. The guards lowered their weapons but just as they did, a flash bang rolled across the floor into the room. Samantha saw it and reflexively crouched down and turned away covering her eyes. It was ineffectual against the flashbang as it went off. The bright light and noise temporarily deafening them and the guards in the room.

Samantha squeezed her eyes shut as her ears rang. The sound gunfire filled the room, bodies dropped to the ground around them, the nurse screamed in panic but it was nothing but a muffled sound to her ears.

"Clear!" A voice shouted, Samantha turned her head to see two men in plain black BDUs followed by a woman and a man she most definitely recognised. Her hearing came back slowly, she heard Milowsky gasping for air. One of the men was knelt next to him, the man was pulling out gauze to stem the bleeding.

"Lt Colonel Nash." Mike said greeting her, he moved to Kate's bedside and looked down at her. The teams checked in and confirmed the base was secure. The only casualties were the security officers that refused to surrender. Anger boiled within him as he took in all the tubes; they had put her on life support, feeding tubes, catheters, she was restrained to the bed; he just angered as there was no dignity. There was no sense of care, he placed a hand over her slightly swollen belly where their child grew.

He heard Milowsky gasping for air as Wolf tried to preserve his life. Mike knew he had his orders but in that moment; clarity came to him. He knew he had his orders but Milowsky couldn't live. He couldn't let this man ever have another chance to get near his wife or children. He couldn't let this happen again nor could he let it go unpunished. He turned and looked at the foul creature on the floor. It was unfair that the man lived while so many innocents were died. Orders be damned, this had to end now.

"Captain Slattery." Samantha said unsure, Mike didn't care about the consequences as he pulled his side arm. He pointed it at Milowsky's head and pulled the trigger. Wolf jumped back from sound and the others froze in shock as Milowsky stopped breathing, blood just pooled out from his head. Mike holstered his weapon and turned back to Kate.

"Looks like he was hit in the crossfire. Nothing I can do for him." Wolf said casually as he got to his feet, no one questioned it nor did they look shocked by Mile's actions. All of them knew they'd be hypocrites to accuse Mike of dishonourable behaviour. Mike didn't care, he'd deal with the ramifications later. "You ok?" Wolf asked Nash.

"Better now than I have been in a while." Nash told him truthfully. They all watched on as Mike gently smoothed a hand down the side of Kate's face, his other hand held hers. It was unbearable to watch and at the same time they all could not look away.

"Someone call in Rios." Mike ordered as he wanted Kate awake and as far away from here as soon as possible.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

* * *

"Mr President." Tom said greeting Oliver as he and General Bradley stepped onto the private jet. They had wanted to speak with Oliver before they stepped onto the tarmac in full view of soldiers and sailors alike had congregated to retake their oath.

"General Bradley, Captain Chandler." Oliver said greeting them both warmly. The man looked exhausted and suit wrinkled but otherwise in good health and spirits.

"How was the flight?" General Bradley asked him, eve though there shouldn't have been time for small talk; Tom knew it was to ingratiate himself to Oliver.

"Bumpy but I'm still here which is all that matter." Oliver replied.

"If it's ok with you, we have some soldiers that need to be sworn in. Then we'd like to debrief you on the current situation with the Regional Leaders and our plan to reinstate the government." Tom said cutting to the chase. Unlike General Bradley, he was impatient and wanted to keep the ball rolling while they had momentum.

"Sounds good, after that I'd like to get some rest and then visit with the people you found on the train." Oliver told them.

"We can do that." Tom replied, Oliver gave a nod looking relieved at the lack of tension. He'd obviously expected the meeting to be contentious.

"Good, I have something for you from Ms Raymond. They were able to make contact with Kara Green, she's in one of the camps. It's all on the thumb drive." Oliver said as he pulled a thumb drive from his jacket and handed it to Tom.

"Very well. After you, Sir." Tom said gesturing to the door for him to go first.

* * *

"How long would it take for her to wake up if we disconnected the IV and all this junk?" Mike asked Rios, the man had Mike twisted up in knots as he'd been looking over Kate's medical record for what felt like an hour but was more like 20 minutes. He appreciated the due diligence but he wanted to know what they could do and whether he'd be here when Kate woke up.

"It will be at least 24 hours, maybe less. She's in good health, blood work are normal, Ultrasounds all well within normal parameters. I believe they were looking after her, there's nothing in this file to suggest they were running tests that are outside the normal. They just kept sedating her to keep her docile. I could inject her with Sugammadex now, it will counteract the Rocuronium. It would wake her up faster but it would be violent." Rios cautioned him, Mike shook his head as he didn't want that for her.

"No, we'll let her sleep. I'd prefer we transfer her to the base hospital in San Diego while she's still under." Mike said making the decision for Kate. He just hoped it was the right one, it pained him even more to be separated from her so soon but they were on mission. Sasha walked into the room, reminding him of that fact.

"Hey, Tom's on the line." Sasha told Mike, he gave a nod as it was time to get back to work. He looked down at Kate and smoothed a hand over her forehead before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. He then straightened up and followed Sasha out of the room; leaving Kate in Rios' care.

* * *

"Mr. Castillo was very forthcoming with details on the other regional leaders and with Val's help we have confirmation on the locations of their homes, habits, security detail." Tom said as he and majority of the senior leadership stood in the wardroom.

President Howard Oliver sat opposite Tom at the table; looking over their plans. They had focused on the plan to take down of the Regional Leaders first, taking the approach of one plan at a time even though they had slightly deviated from it.

Thanks to Oliver's arrival, they had solidified the trust of the unaffiliated military. All personnel in Castillo's region had pledged allegiance to America and the President, they had been reassured that their families were not forgotten, that there was a plan coming into effect and everyone was needed to do their part.

If only the civilians could be as easily swayed as they thought it was all a trick and the military were their tormentors. They didn't refuse their help but they also were not pleased to have to accept help from them either.

General Bradley had taken control of the base as instructed and his men were slowly returning some sanity to the region. Food was being rationed out slowly, people were being liberated from the factories and given medical care and rest.

Luckily for them majority of West Coast ran on green energy systems so they were not without power or running water. The only issue came from the fact that they would run out of food eventually but that was estimated to be six months down the road. They would address it later when they reinstalled the Government.

"We tasked a satellite to do some early recon. It's all in your packets." Jeter said, on the table were dossiers made on all the regional leaders. Sasha and Mike were on speaker phone from Los Alamos weighing in. Tom knew their mission had mostly been successful, the failure was the death of Milowsky. He'd read their reports later before making any comments.

"Randall Croft, New York City. Lives in a penthouse, 60 floors above Park Avenue. Gonna be tough to sneak up on him." Andrea commented as she looked over the man's file.

"He does like to drink." Tom commented.

"That much I know to be true." Oliver assured them.

"Most nights, you can find him stumbling out of a pub on the West Side, couple of hours before sunrise." Lt Green commented looking at the dossier in his hands. He like many of them were surprised at the heavy details of information Castillo had on his friends.

"And Wilson is out on a farm somewhere, right?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, Sir.50 miles south of Des Moines. Sleeps with the windows open. Likes the fresh air. " Jeter said.

"He's got dogs, but we can handle them." Meylan said, he looked to his XO who gave a nod as they'd volunteered to help take down one of the regional leaders. It helped maintain the strenuous relationship between the Hayward and Nathan James crews.

"Price is the smartest and the meanest. Her place is a fortress." Sasha said over comms.

"Miller and I have got it covered." Wolf assured them, from the background.

"So, small teams of three, set targets, simultaneous assault to cut off the heads of leadership." Tom told them all, everyone nodded in agreement. "All goes right, we can expect limited casualties." he added.

"You still need need to take out the mastermind. You need to take out Shaw." Oliver told Tom, Tom nodded in acknowledgement as they had thought of that too.

"Mike, Ravit and Sasha will look after to Shaw. Meylan, Trudeau and Cobb; you get Wilson. Jeter, Green and Burk; will be on Croft. Cruz, Taylor and Miller will go after Price." Tom said calling the teams as they'd been designated. Oliver nodded blindly given he had no background in the Military but had confidence in them nonetheless.

"Captain Slattery, what is the status of the people in Los Alamos?" Tom asked switching topics; knowing that Oliver wanted an update. He also wanted to know Kate was alright, it still chilled him to the bone to know that Milowsky had gotten his hands on Kate again. He felt as if he was lucky to have been spared as Rachel and the kids were out of harm's way.

"Majority of the folks here were exposed to the Green Mist and a few others were going to be used for some kind of breeding program. Rios checked them out. They are in good health. So we're putting everyone onto transport within the hour." Mike told him.

"Good, what will we do about the people in factories and the military families?" Oliver asked the room.

"Thanks to General Bradley and Nash; we have a comm line that all military members are listening to. We're going to send out a signal informing everyone that the regional leaders are taken. Val's going to upload the locations of the camps in their regions. We liberate those camps and then tackle the issue of the factories from then on. Right now, we need the Regional leaders out, we free those in the camp." Tom said.

"Freeing the families and loved ones of the military will go a long way to solidifying your presidency." General Bradley said to Oliver.

* * *

"For a Prison, it isn't too bad." Rachel quipped as she, Kara and Lena sat in the shaded space between their two houses on a cotton blanket. The babies were sprawled in the middle on pillows; all dressed only in their nappies, enjoying the south easterly wind that gently blew through the camp. It tempered the harsh heat of the day, marking the time of when the temperature would drop to a temperature more bearable.

"Yes, though I can't wait to get out of here to a place with at least an operating fan. I feel like I'm going through menopause again." Lena half joked as she used a piece of paper to fan herself. Kara and Rachel smiled at Lena's commiserations as it was hot.

"Well, from what I've been told; we shouldn't be here for much longer. Something is going on soon, so I'm hoping we'll be free to go home as I can wait to hug my air conditioner for making Frankie sleep the whole night through." Kara quipped, she was used to the heat but she was worried for Frankie as she didn't like the heat. Her poor baby girl was well hydrated and loved but was restless and a complete grump when it came to sleeping at night.

"I think we'll all be happy to get back to our homes."She said as she looked over to Scout who was sitting inside a bucket of cold water with his head on the edge, his eyes closed as he was sleeping. Lena checked the water to make sure Scout wasn't overheated only for the puppy to wake up and lick her hand. Lena scratched him behind the ear before something unsettled him.

His ears perked up and he turned away from them, he attempted to jump out of the bucket but Lena intervened; she lifted him out and settled him on the ground. He moved away from them and shook out his fur before he started running.

"Oh no," Lena said as she got to her feet. "Scout!" she shouted as she chased after the puppy. She didn't have to run far as Maddy and Zoe were sprinting to her. Scout met them first and followed them as they ran straight into Lena's arms. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked as she looked at them, they were red faced with tears streaming down their faces.

"They are stealing all the kids!" Maddy told her as she caught her breath. "They took Sam and Ashley from class." She added.

"Where did they take them?" Lena asked, she quickly looked around to see if there were any guards coming for them but it was all peaceful. The only guard was in a tower a few meters away and his attention was outward.

"I don't know, I thought they were coming for us next-" Maddy started but Lena cut her off and offered her a calming smile.

"It's ok, let's get you both home ok." Lena said as she ushered them back to the house.

* * *

"I can go with you. I know the Old courthouse pretty well." Samantha told Mike, she was edging to get into the fray and help out but Rios told her due to what Milowsky had done to her; she was best going to San Diego and put under medical supervision. Not what she wanted.

"I appreciate that but right now you're not medically cleared and I need you to stay with Kate. I might not be back when she wakes up, she needs a familiar face ; she knows you. And Oliver will need you by his side while this is going on given you are his senior military adviser. You're also the face of a mutiny." Mike told her, any other person said that to her; she would have been annoyed. But with Mike? not so much given he clearly wanted to be with Kate but the mission took precedence. Samantha was in a position to actually help him. They were not friends but they were family by service.

"Only against the breakdown of the country I swore an oath to and the dismantling of our military. We deserve a lot better than what we've been given. I'll look after Kate until you get back." Samantha told him as she held out her hand to him.

"Thank you." Mike said as they shook hands.

* * *

"Where are they?!" Rachel demanded as she slammed her hand down on the desk of the man sitting outside of Wayne Drayton's office. The unofficial Mayor of their camp. Rachel was pissed and frightened but she was done being a placid prisoner. The twins were being looked after by the Burks, so if something happened to her, they were not going to be alone. For some reason she felt unlike anyone else in the camp; she was untouchable.

"They've been taken to another camp." The man said as he flicked through his tablet computer. It was clear he'd been expected them.

"Why? Where is Mr Drayton as I demand he tell me where my children are!" Rachel told the man with a tone filled with cold fury.

"Mr Drayton is out of the complex at the moment and it's not my business to know about anything nor is it to answer to you. You're not their nominated guardian or a family member, you have no right to be here." The man told her in a bored and detached tone. He clearly wasn't affected by her anger nor scared.

"I am a family member, I'm their father's wife which makes me their step mother. I'm also their nominated guardian when their father is deployed." Rachel told him.

"It's not in our records." he told her.

"Not in your-" Rachel started, she was ready to walk around the desk and thump the man but Kara gently grabbed her by the arm.

"Come on, Rachel." She said in a gentle coaxing manner. Rachel glared at her given for a split second she wondered who's side Kara was on but then realised Kara was protecting her. She looked back to the man behind the desk and realised she was truly wasting her time.

So she turned on her feet and stomped out of the offices and back into the afternoon sunlight.

"Can you believe them?" Rachel asked Kara who was right beside her.

"You and the CNO are married?" Kara asked.

"No, not yet but I thought I'd try it out." Rachel said dismissively, she and Tom had been waiting for the right time. Something that seemed so inconsequential in hindsight. As she wondered if they had been married that maybe she could've had a better chance of saving Ashley and Sam or not.

"Well, I'll see if anyone else knows where they have gone and go from there. But for now, we need to keep a cool head." Kara told her.

"They took Sam and Ashley." Rachel said impassioned.

"I know but you're no good to them if you're put in a hole somewhere." Kara told her, Rachel knew she was right but Rachel still felt like a failure as she should've been more vigilant. Now Tom's children were somewhere out there in danger.

* * *

"She will be ok." Ravit said to Mike as they were in the air on their way to St Louis. Wolf, Miller ad Cruz had commandeered a vehicle and headed into Price's territory.

"I know, I'm just not sure I will be." Mike said as they were talking about Kate. He hated that they had to keep fixing everything and seeing the toll it took on their families. He was tired of the damage his job and the world they lived in did to his family. Here he was, separated from the people he felt needed him the most and there was still no end in sight of when he'd be reunited with them. It made him wonder where his duty to country ended and his duty of care to his family took precedence.

"If you want, Ravit and I can handle the mission on our own. You can take the plane back to San Diego, no one would blame you." Sasha told him, he shook his head.

"No, I'm good for the mission. I'll deal with the fallout after." Mike told them, as much as he appreciated their offer, he was not leaving them shorthanded especially at this hour. So he would pack away his distractions and wants until the current mission was complete.

* * *

"What is he saying?" Jesse asked Anna as she, Misato, Kat and Tex were in the living area listening to Anna talk with some government agent. They conversed completely in Japanese which was a pain in the ass for her.

"He's saying that Japan is completely closing its' borders in 24 hours, they've organised flights back to San Diego for the American sailors here. He wants us to know that this might be the only window we have to leave in the next six months." Anna told them.

"So we have to go." Tex said before Jesse could, Anna and Tex shared a look that annoyed the hell out of Jesse. She was envious as the two had some kind of telepathic shorthand.

"We have a choice." Anna told them as she adjusted the arm sling, clearly it was annoying her or she was in pain as she was tense and pulling at it.

"Misato and I will go stateside." Jesse told them, she smoothed a hand over the little girl's hair as she sat watching them all with interest. Anna relayed the information to the Agent. The two spoke in what felt like casual tone, there seemed to be no mistrust or tension but Jesse was worried there would be roadblocks to taking Misato out of the country.

"He said what you do with your daughter is your business." Anna told her, Jesse was about to correct her but then thought better of it. Anna gave a smile to the Agent and spoke with him as she showed him out of the apartment. Once the door closed, Anna turned to the others.

"Daughter?" Jesse asked wanting to know what lie Anna had told him so she could keep it in place later down the track.

"He presumed Misato is your child and I didn't correct him. It's better that way, we can sort it out stateside if it's a problem for you." Anna said but Jesse shook her head.

"No, it's all blue skies with me. You guys staying?" Jesse asked.

"No, we're going with you." Tex said as he pulled Kat into his arms, his daughter squirmed at the contact but smiled nonetheless.

"That's right, I'll make some calls and find out what time our flight is." Anna said.


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

* * *

"Sir, we have body-cam footage from all four land teams." Granderson told Tom as he stood in the CIC behind one of the main stations where Lt Commander Burk sat. He had his headset on and was ready to go as the screens before them switched to body cam views and satellite views of their targets.

"And my ISR?" Tom asked as he folded his arms and took in the view before him.

"We've re-tasked the satellites to give you 2 square miles around each target." Lt Commander Burk told him.

"ISR?" Oliver asked as he was escorted into the room.

"Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance. Gives us a bigger picture." Tom explained to him.

"So you're their guardian angels." Oliver said

"Something like that." Tom said as he turned his attention back to the screen. "All teams, stand by for sat link and position report." he said over comm.

"How long before you're ready?" Oliver asked.

"We're good to go. As soon as Vulture team gets a visual on Croft, we move. If all goes as planned, this will be over within the hour, Sir." Tom told Oliver.

"Mm." Oliver said not entirely convinced but keeping an open mind given unlike Michener; he didn't pester them with questions. Most importantly he kept his doubts to himself even though Tom knew the man had many.

"Sat link confirmed in all four regions, Sir. Video transmissions from each team are up." Lt Commander Burk told Tom.

* * *

"There's no record of where they've gone." Val said as she'd been trying to find out where the kids had been taken. She picked up the bowl of stew Will had made and ate a bite, then suspiciously looked at the bowl. "What is this meat?" she asked as she had never tasted it before.

"Possum." He told her.

"Possum?" Val repeated slowly unsure of if she wanted to continue eating her meal.

"I found it rummaging through the trash and -" he made noise and the gesture of slitting throat,"It's good right?" he asked her.

"Yeah, it is." Val said as she had to admit he was right even if she was felt a little off by the fact she was eating possum.

"Anyway, my men said they saw a car about five hours ago head back north east could be going to St Louis. They are the kids of the CNO; high value target." Will told her.

"Right but why wouldn't there be a record of where they are going?" Val asked.

"Obviously it's not the military but a civilian contractor. They aren't into paperwork." Will said before he took a bite of his dinner.

"Then how am I supposed to find them?" Val asked.

"Sometimes, you just can't save everyone." Will told her.

"Not good enough for me. There has to be some way to track them." Val said as she wasn't going to be easily defeated.

* * *

Tom watched the body cams as the teams neared the homes of their targets, all except Green's team who were following Croft from bar to bar for the past hour. Burk was on Danny's cam looking down at his arm and then past Danny's shoulder. They had been parked outside of one bar for nearly half an hour.

" _Nathan James, this is Vulture team. We have eyes on the prize. Standing by at set point_." Green said over comms.

"Copy that, Vulture team. All teams, requesting go status." Tom requested of the teams.

"This is Tiger, good to go." Meylan said, his and Cobb's cams pointed towards the house in front of them.

"Vulture, good." Green replied as he and his team waited outside the bar.

"Cobra team, good to go." Sasha said, her cam was directed at Mike who was looking towards Shaw's house; armed and ready.

"This is Raptor team, ready to go." Cruz said, Miller gave him a thumbs up on Cruz's cam.

"All teams, stand by to execute in 3... 2... 1." Tom countered, he paused and then they were on the clock. "Execute." he ordered.

He watched as the teams took off to collect their bounty and switched his gaze to the satellite feeds.

"Tiger, I'm seeing no movement on the northeast side. Dogs are still. You are clear to proceed." Tom told Meylan's team. "Vulture, Croft's taking the north alley. Cobra, entrance is clear." Tom informed the teams one by one.

"Raptor, bogey coming at you hard." Tom told Cruz's team, Taylor took down the guard heading their way.

"Vulture team; Croft and company 100 yards to your west, heading southbound. Veer left around the corner of the building, then proceed north. You can cut him off." Tom advised Green's team. Even though he wasn't there on the ground he felt the excitement of the hunt.

* * *

"Lt Colonel Nash, you should be sleeping." The night nurse told her as she checked over Samantha's vitals for what felt like the hundredth time since arriving in San Diego. She would soon move onto Kate who was prone in the other bed in the four bedroom room. Jed Chandler was sleeping in another; snoring up a storm while the fourth remained empty.

"I'm not dead but I'm bored. Can't the doctor clear me? I'm perfectly fine." Samantha told the night nurse.

"You have to be observed for at least 24 hours, it's only been four. So relax and use this time to sleep." he told Samantha.

"Right, how's she doing?" Samantha asked gesturing to Kate's prone form. They'd taken her off life support but she was still asleep.

"Better, she should wake up when the sedatives have left her system." The nurse told her.

"Looks like it's out." Samantha commented as Kate's vital monitor started sounding an alarm and Kate rolled onto her side.

"Doctor!" Nurse shouted as she rushed to Kate's side trying to stop her but she was wasn't fast enough as Kate pulled out the intubation tube from her throat and mouth. The sound of her gagging and gasping woke up Jed and in a snap he was at Kate's side as she tried to yank out her IV line and pull off her vitals' monitor in a bleary yet panicked state.

"Hey, hey, it's ok." Jed said to Kate in soothing manner as she coughed and sputtered. He helped to keep her calm as the doctor and medical staff came in. "You're ok." Jed told her as she pushed at the staff trying to help her while she tried to get out of the bed. A feat she was no way ready for.

* * *

Tom blew out an anxious breath as they caught Wilson and Croft but somewhere in the mix they had lost Shaw and Price. Their houses were empty.

"I want Wilson and Croft transported to the local prisons. Tiger and Vulture team, I need you to go to St Louis and be on standby for Cobra team. Raptor team, I need you to escort Val and make sure she's able to upload the information of the camps to the DOD servers." Tom ordered, all the teams called in acknowledging the order. He pulled off the headset and hung it up. He placed a hand on Lt Commander Burk's shoulder.

"Keep me updated on anything that comes up, I need to step out for 5." Tom told him.

"Copy that, Sir." Lt Commander Burk said.

* * *

"Thank you for everything you have done for us." Captain Kaito Nakamura said to Anna and Jesse. They stood on the tarmac at the open back door a Hercules air plane. The same one Anna, Tex and Kat had flown in on. It was filled with injured soldiers to full capacity and they were just waiting for Anna and Jesse to come on board.

"Thank you for the hospitality and the ride home. I do hope Japan opens her borders in the near future." Anna told him with a soft closed lip smile. He gave a nod; clearly agreeing with her.

"I do too, but for now we need to recuperate and become strong again before we open our borders to the world again. Safe Journey." Kaito told her.

"Thank you and best of luck." Anna told him, they bowed to one another and Anna motioned for Jesse. They walked up the backdoor of the Hercules. She stood and watched as the back closed, the turbines of the engine revved. She turned and moved to the seats where Tex and Kat were. Jesse sat down next to Misato who was having a scissors, paper, rock challenge fest with Kat.

"You ok?" Tex asked Anna as she sat down beside him.

"Yeah," Anna said as she rested her head on his shoulder. But f she was honest, she wasn't sure as she felt unsettled.

* * *

"Wilson and Croft have been secured in local prisons." Tom told Oliver as they stood in the presidential offices on the ship. It was still weird to have them on the Nathan James given they tried exercise economy given the lack of space. But they were still here.

"And the others?" Oliver asked as he sat behind his desk looking thoughtful.

"Satellite feeds picked up Price's jet touching down in St. Louis. Our guess is she's headed to the White House to meet with Shaw. I've diverted all teams to that location except one. Once we have them in custody, we'll get you on the air to address the people." Tom said, changing the original plan slightly as the speech was supposed to be after they secured the families of the military service members.

"I have a speech ready but I will only deliver after the families of the military have been released. The people need to know that we have the Military back in line by their own choice not force." Oliver said obstinately.

"The rank and file will fall in line after we send out the signal about the regional leaders being out of the way. It's not an issue." Tom argued. Oliver gave him a look of patience.

"Captain Chandler, I admire your confidence but you haven't been here on the ground and while those families are in the camps; if we do what you propose then we're no better than the Regional leaders giving out empty promises." Oliver told him.

"We made an oath to the people of this country not just our families." Tom argued.

"You agreed we should rescue the families before the general population." Oliver pointed out.

"I did but we need to get your message out there, the sooner the better." Tom said.

"I think it's time the military were allowed to be selfish for once and look after their loved ones first before they help the greater populace. That is my order to you, we don't jump the gun with a message to the people until we're in a better position to do so. We fix one problem at a time, right now the allegiance of the military is more important than bolstering a public we cannot help yet." Oliver told him.

"Yes, Sir." Tom replied.

* * *

Kate slowly opened her eyes, she felt like frozen road kill. Her throat killed, her arms ached and her body felt like it was being pressed down by a heavy weight. Cold air blasted through her nose making her sinuses ache. She grimaced as she reached up to face only for someone to grab her hand.

She turned her head and saw Jed sitting beside her bed. "Jed?" she asked, wondering if she was imagining him. Her voice barely audible and patchy. She winced in pain as it hurt to speak.

"Yeah, you're ok, the baby is ok. But you have to keep in all the tubes and lines." He told her in a gentle manner, it came back to her that she had woken up and pulled out tube that had been choking her. The experience hadn't been fun, if anything it was hazy and nightmarish.

"I wan-" she closed her eyes and tried to speak. "out, all out." She told him, tears filling her eyes as she knew she should feel relieved but she just felt tired and damaged.

Jed gave her an empathetic smile as he reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes taking comfort in the fatherly gesture and the warmth of his skin as she felt so cold.

"I'll let the doctor know when he comes in." Jed assured her.

* * *

"Nathan James, Cobra team. We're at the White House." Mike said over comms. He and Sasha were crouched behind a couple SVUs in the underground car parking of the old court house, just further ahead where the elevators were stood a good handful of armed guards. All civilian security.

Burk, Green, Jeter, Meylan and his team were still in transit to their location as was Cruz, Miller and Wolf who hadn't rendezvoused with Val yet.

" _Roger, Cobra. We're tasking satellite to your whiskey_." Lt Commander Burk said over Comm.

"We've got 10 guards out front, who knows how many inside." Ravit said over comms as she was above ground checking out the scenery.

"Cobra in position at the underground entrance. Multiple guards at elevator access. They've definitely beefed up security." Mike commented over comms.

"All signs of a high-value asset. Shaw and Price have to be inside." Sasha surmised over comms. She and Mike exchanged a knowing look. The odds were not in their favour, they needed back up.

"Roger that, Cobra team. Hang tight. Backup's in transit." Tom told them.

* * *

Ashley and Sam sat in the room watching Mrs Price and Ms Shaw circle around an army general in front of some kind of suit case. It reminded Ashley of her Dad's childhood version of the game Battle ship except it was more high tech and there was a game stick.

Though she highly doubted what they were doing was a game. She also doubted the guy in front of the box was Army as he didn't look like any of Grandpa's friends did, he slouched forward in his chair and one of rank emblems was upside down.

"We've got a target." The general told Ms Shaw, she moved to stand behind him, Ashley wished she could see the screen as she like Sam dreaded whatever was happening before them.

"Let's get started." Ms Shaw said a cold smile curling on her lips. The General nodded and then clicked something on the game stick.

* * *

Vampire! Vampire! Vampire! Bulldog inbound, bearing 047!" Nishioka shouted as CIC became a flurry of alarms of people shouting over one another.

"Air, kill track 86086 with birds!" Lt Commander Burk shouted.

Track 86086. Evaluate as kill." Nishioka responded as the

Nothing on subsurface." Wright said supplying information from his post.

SPY didn't pick it up until it was practically on top of us." Lt Commander Burk said.

"Radar is detecting no aircraft." Nishioka added.

"Could the missile have been loitering?" Granderson asked.

"We would've spotted it sooner." Lt Commander Burk told her.

"I saw something on radar, just for a second, but then it just disappeared." Nishioka said as he and the others tried to figure. Tom moved to stand behind Lt Commander Burk trying to see something that clearly wasn't there. But there on the screen was a signal flickering in and out just so subtle it could be missed.

"It was launched from a drone." Tom said, just as he did the alarms sounded again.

"Detecting two... no, three new hostile tracks!" Nishioka announced.

"UAV identified as an MQ-9 Reaper." Lt Granderson said.

"Kill all inbound hostiles." Lt Commander Burk commanded.

"Lieutenant Granderson, locate ground control. I want to know who's operating that drone." Tom ordered.

"Yes, Sir. Triangulating the electronic signature." Lt Granderon answered.

"Track 86089. Evaluate as kill." Lt Commander Burk ordered as the missiles came at them.

"Track 90. Evaluate as kill." Nishioka replied. Tom and Lt Commander Burk stood behind him watching his screen waiting for the missiles to get into range to destroy them.

"Last known K.A.-signal is originating from... St. Louis." Lt Granderson said.

"Shaw." Tom said, in anger but not entirely surprised.

* * *

" _All teams be advised... Nathan James is under attack. Command and Control is in the White House. I say again, the drone attack is originating from the White House. Cobra needs backup ASAP_!" Tom ordered over comms. Mike and Sasha looked to one another as they were now in a tighter spot than before.

" _Tiger's 30 minutes out_." Meylan said.

" _Raptor is 45 out_." Miller replied.

" _Vulture team's an hour and a half from wheels down_." Green said, it wasn't good as Mike and his team couldn't sit around undetected forever.

" _Cobra team, hold position, but be ready to move as soon as Tiger and Raptor teams land."_ Tom ordered, Mike took a peek around the side of the SUV to see if they'd had a shift change but no luck.

"Ravit, what do you see upstairs?" Mike asked, hoping that maybe she had found a way in topside as the elevator in the carpark was their best bet.

" _No change, want me to meet you and Sasha?"_ Ravit asked.

"Yes." Mike said as he knew that Tom was working on a way to take out whatever was attacking them but there was a chance Sasha, he and Ravit would have to go in without support. It was best to go in as a team.

" _On my way_." Ravit replied.

* * *

"Okay, let's sit you up." Rios as lifted the back of the bed up for Kate. She had gained a lot of her strength in the few hours she had been awake but she was still tired.

"How-" she stopped as she remembered she wasn't supposed to be talking. Rios gave her a kind smile.

"You're good health, Dr Milowsky wasn't running any experiments on you or your pregnancy. From his notes and our assessments at the hospital; you're in great health. He just kept you sedated, all the tests he ran were standard for any pregnancy which is progressing well. There will be no long term effects from the sedation on you or your baby." Rios assured her, Kate gave a short nod, she unconsciously smoothed a hand over her slight but swollen belly.

Last she remembered it was flat but now she had a bump that didn't look like she went crazy on Burritos. There was something calming about motion of rubbing a hand over the bump. The baby was ok, she was ok, everyone she loved was still alive and safe. They were the mantras she played in her head over and over in the hopes she'd calm down but it only took the edge off.

"Kate wants the lines and oxygen off." Jed told Rios, he had stayed by her side even though she knew he had better things to be doing. But she appreciated it, though she wished they could just leave the hospital like Samantha had. The woman had undergone god knew what but she managed to get cleared and discharged.

"Right now, I'd prefer to keep the oxygen on while you're still in a sluggish state. But I will compromise, once the banana bag is finished we'll remove IV line and the downstairs plumbing as I would like to get you up and walking today." Rios said.

"Now." Kate said in a low voice, it was so frustrating not being able to talk. Worse yet was trying to find short easy words to encapsulate a whole sentence or argument as she wanted all the tubes and line out of her body.

"No," Rios said with a chuckle, as he clearly could see she was eager to get out of bed and be her own person. "Once the IV bag is finished, you'll also be given some food can't promise it will be good but it should bolster you a little before we get you on your feet." he added.

Kate looked to the IV bag that was ½ empty and knew she was in for a wait. She could handle that but the wait to seeing Mike, the kids and Lena and everyone else was taking it's toll.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

* * *

"Nathan James is putting up a good fight." The General said, as Allison and he watched the screen. Price was pacing around with a nervous energy that was becoming annoying.

"What?" Sam asked, Allison truly despised kids. They were weak, undisciplined emotional little beings that only had one purpose and that was to punish their parents. She knew if there was anyway she'd get out of this alive… she'd need Tom's kids. They were his Achilles' heel and thus made the perfect currency for her freedom as the America she had been building for the immunes was crumbling to pieces.

"Just taking care of business and once we're done then you and your sister will be free to go." Allison told the Chandler kids, she was lying of course but she didn't need them stirring up trouble. So far they had behaved pretty well which was surprising. The door to the office opened and her head of security walked up to her.

"We got a plane waiting, it's time to leave." He told her in a low voice. She gave a nod.

"What are y'all talking about? Seems important." Price asked, Allison held out her hand to her man, he gave a small smile as he passed his side arm to her. She turned back to Price with a serious expression.

"The next item on our agenda." She said.

"Which is?" Price asked assuming it had something to do with the Chandler kids.

"This." Allison said, she raised the weapon without hesitation and shot Price in the head. Her body dropped to the floor with a satisfying thud as Allison was glad to be rid of her. The Chandler kids sat in their seats frightened and most likely scarred for life as they had blood and brain splattered on them.

"Get rid of her and take care of her guards. Then take the kids to the car and wait for me." She told her security passing the gun back her head of security. She moved back to the General. "We got to finish this job, General." Allison told him going back to business at hand of destroying the ship.

* * *

Anna groaned in disgust as plane shuddered and jumped erratically as it passed through a rough patch of turbulence. Her stomach churned and she begged for them to already be in San Diego but they were still 5 hours out.

"Did you hork up a receipt?" Tex asked in curiosity as he held up Anna's vomit bag looking at the contents through the clear plastic.

"Oh my god, no! And why are you looking at it?" Anna asked as she looked anywhere but at the love of her life given he seemed interested at inspecting her vomit. The plane's doctor had given her a shot of Maxolon but was now putting in an IV line to keep her hydrated.

"Just never seen anyone vomit up so much water and did you really spend 3000 yen on a chocolate bar?" Tex asked her incredulously, she however felt she was the only one allowed to feel incredulous given he was reading a receipt floating in her vomit.

"I'm going to vomit on you if you don't put that bag away." Anna told him.

"I'll go put it in the biohazard bin." Tex said.

"Please do." Anna told him.

* * *

"Damage report!" Tom ordered as they'd taken a hit. The large screens in CIC were down and some sections had overloaded leading to couple consoles sparking electricity before the fuses kicked in cutting off the electricity to the damaged areas. The lights were flickering in and out but it looked like no one had sustained serious injury in CIC but the rest of ship remained to be seen.

"Generator 2 down! Power diverted to essential systems only." Lt Granderson reported.

"SPY radar's down. Missiles and 5-inch unresponsive. We've lost sat link and cameras." Lt Commander Burk said as more screens went dark in CIC. Tom picked up the phone receiver and dialled for engine room knowing that they had taken a hit given the shoddy power CIC was receiving.

"Engine room, what's your status?" Tom asked.

"Chill water to SPY is down, and we need a few minutes to get it up and running." Andrea's voice said over the comm. She'd obviously left the bridge to help out.

"Without fire control, we're sitting ducks." Lt Granderson told Tom not that he needed to know.

"Man navigational radars and watch for bogies." Tom ordered before he spoke to Andrea. "X.O., in World War II, warships created smokescreens by changing engine settings. Can we rig ours to do the same?" he asked.

"Yeah, maybe, if we fill the service tanks with low-grade fuel. But we can only sustain it for a few minutes before damaging the engine." Andrea told him.

"Do it. " Tom ordered.

"CIC, engine room. Fuel systems aligned, engines in battle override. Throttle engines." Andrea told them.

"Bridge, throttle engines and circle back over the wake." Tom ordered, he braced himself as the ship took a harsh turn and the ship groaned in misery from the manoeuvre

"Where's my fire control, radar?" Tom asked.

" _Sir, the pipes are badly damaged. We're gonna have to cut the water supply."_ Andrea informed him.

"How long?" Tom asked, his stomach churning as they only had a finite amount of time before the smoke cover would fade and they couldn't outrun a drone with the engines nor the ship in poor shape.

" _An hour before we can get SPY up and running_." Andrea said, Tom dropped the phone into the receiver annd pressed his lips together in a firm line as this wasn't good. There were no other options than the one he despised the most. He didn't want to send cobra team in without backup, it was suicide for them.

* * *

" _Cobra team, we are still under attack and have lost fire control. The only way to stop the UAV is to take the White House. Can you breach without backup?"_ Tom asked, Mike, Ravit and Sasha all shared looks as they were going in without back up. But Mike like Sasha and Ravit was determined, part of him preferred they just go in and get the job done.

"We can do it. We found their weak spot. We'll radio when it's done." Mike said to the ship, actually glad this would be over because once they took control of the old court house and Shaw; the mission was over. He could find out about his family and get back to Kate.

" _Roger. Out."_ Tom replied, his tone was grim. Mike looked to the women hiding behind the back of the SUV opposite him and signalled he would take point. They both nodded.

* * *

"1/4 to go and then you're free." Jed said, Kate gave a nod; glad as she wanted to put on some real clothes. Anything to wipe away the nightmares of labs, hospitals. "Mike is going to be ok, he and the others found you and had to move on quickly to secure the other leaders. The kids and Lena are at camp in Texarkana. Dog too. They are safe. I forgot, this was given to me by the front desk." Jed told her, he lifted up a small backpack that had 'Slattery' stitched on it.

He placed it in her lap and Kate smoothed her fingers over the stitching. She tried to pull on the zipper but her hands complained from the pain and would barely move. It was due to the bruising on her hands from the multiple IV line changes she had endured over the past couple weeks. She gave a frustrated sigh as Jed helped by opening the zipper for her.

She reached in and pulled out a hoodie sweatshirt, tears welled in her eyes as it was the same sweatshirt Mike had let her borrow the first time she'd been recovered from Milowsky's hold. She knew she should feel relieved to be free and by Rios reassurances that she and her baby were okay.

"I know it's a bit of bad reminder of the first time we met but I figured it'd help." Jed said, she gave a stiff nod as she did need the sentimentality of the sweatshirt.

Having this piece of clothing to hold onto helped but she couldn't stop the pain and grief. She pressed her face into the sweatshirt as she couldn't hold it in. She cried for the time she lost in Milowsky's hold, she cried for having not being able to fight it, for feeling helpless. She cried because of the indignity she felt in her current state. She cried because she truly just wanted to go home and forget it all.

Jed seemed to understand her pain as he sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Comforting her just with his presence as he didn't say a word. He just held her and rubbed her back, letting her cry.

* * *

"Once those doors open, there's no turning back." Sasha said to Mike and Ravit as they'd made it to the elevators with no injuries to their person but that was the easy part.

"Copy that." Ravit said.

"Shoot to kill, no prisoners." Mike told them, they both nodded. "Ladies first." Mike said as the elevator pinged a noise as the doors opened. Sasha took point, followed by Ravit as Mike took up the rear. As soon as the first security man fell down the call went out to the rest of the Old Courthouse's security teams.

"Shots fired! Shots fired! Multiple tangos! Shots fired! East Hallway." was shouted by the men, but Mike, Sasha and Ravit were determined as they made their way down the hallway rotating who was at point to keep moving until they reached a corner, Ravit stepped out first and fired a couple shots before stepping back behind cover.

"Flash!" she shouted, Sasha pulled out a flash bang and pulled the pin and tossed it into the hallway they needed to get through to the command centre of the old court house. They all turned away as the flash bang exploded. The noise muffled as they were at the edge of the hallway, but the security guards in the hallway caught the full brunt of it. They waited for the flashes to finish then moved.

Mike took point with Sasha behind him, they took out three guards before six more appeared, Ravit kicked in the first door to their right and they quickly ran into the empty room and took cover.

"We can escape through the window, into the courtyard and across to the west hallway!" Ravit shouted as the guards pummelled the room with gun fire. Personal effects and paper exploded all over the room as gun fire sprayed into the room. Mike who had rolled behind the desk rose up when there was a pause in gun fire and took out an additional two guards. Sasha used his cover fire and jumped through the broken window closest to her that had been destroyed by the guards' gun fire.

She raced across the courtyard and kicked open the door across the way; it wasn't a hallway but an office. Luckily, the office door was closed. She took up sentry; killing any guard that popped his or her head up. All of them were civilians, not one wore a military uniform but they were well trained and in many numbers. Ravit came out of the window second and raced through the opened door. Mike followed; he took up her post as she went into the office behind Ravit. She barely made it past the desk when the interior door opened. She didn't have time to react when he shot her; the force of the shot hit her in the vest and sent her rolling over the desk.

Ravit turned at the gunshot sound and killed the man at the door. "I'm good!" Sasha shouted as Mike kept moving past them to the third door in the room. It opened directly into the command centre of the Old courthouse. It was surprisingly empty.

It didn't last long as one of the two double doors to the room opened and more guards showed up firing at him. Mike fired back; killing the man. He dropped his weapon and pushed the long table up against the doors essentially blocking the way. Ravit and Sasha did the same with the doors leading to the office they had used as an entry point.

Ravit moved into the centre of the room with Mike watching the entrances and looking to the windows suspiciously as Sasha crouched down in front of the command computer used for the drone.

"It's on autofire and it's already launched!" Sasha told Mike. He moved over to look at the screen. He pushed his rifle onto his shoulder.

"Move." He told her, Sasha did as she was told and Mike looked at the screen for a moment before he tried his own command codes. The screen bounced an access denied screen at him.

"Can I?" Ravit asked before Mike could think of another move to make.

"Sure." Mike said as anything was worth a try except destroying it as it wouldn't stop the drone attack. He stepped away and pulled his rifle back into his hands as the security guards outside were still trying to come in. The sound of gunfire pummelling wood sounded as they were using their ammo to get in.

Ravit looked at the screen and then started typing away. "Don't mean to push you, but we don't have a lot of time left." Sasha told Ravit.

"Patience." Ravit told her.

* * *

 _"Sir, the engines are overheating. We've got to shut them down_." Andrea said over comms into CIC.

"Chief, once we spot a bogey, you'll only have 5 seconds to take it out." Tom told Nishioka.

"Yes, sir." Nishioka replied from his station.

"Bogey inbound, bearing 096. " Tom shouted over the noise of the room. The Nathan James had had a brief respite from attack but the engines were shot. He knew just from the sounds it was making. They'd over reached their limit. If they were lucky and survived the drone attack then they were most likely going to need to be towed. But first they had to survive.

"Fire CIWS down that bearing!" Lt Commander Burk ordered. Nishioka complied and the missile disappeared from screen as their CIWS took it out. But their relief was short lived as more missiles came up on their screens.

"Inbound hostile, bearing 082!" Tom said, shouting out the coordinates for Nishioka.

"Second bogey, bearing 036!" Lt Commander Burk shouted.

"Third hostile, bearing 042! Fire, fire, fire!" Tom shouted, like everyone else waited with bated breath as the missiles that bleeped on the screen grew closer and closer. Too close for Tom's liking but it had to be done as the CIWS only had so much range.

"Distance 5 mikes and closing!" Lt Granderson shouted, the missiles disappeared from the screen one by one until they were gone.

"CIWS mount 2-1 is out of ammo." Nishioka announced.

"That UAV's got at least two missiles left." Lt Commander Burk said, stating what they all knew. They were screwed if Mike and his team didn't take out the drone from their end.

"Come on, Mike." Tom said under his breath.

* * *

Ravit typed at a rapid pace on the console's keyboard, her heart pounding in her throat as she could see the drone was circling around to make another strike on the Nathan James but luckily her work paid off as she was given access to program. She overrode the auto fire system and took manual control. She grabbed the gear stick and dived the drone into the water.

The screen blinked out and the words 'No signal' appeared on the screen. She sunk down to her knees in relief enjoying the small victory.

* * *

"Sir, it's gone quiet." Lt Granderson said as nothing had happened in the past minute. She hoped she wasn't jinxing them by stating as much but she like the others; hoped it was over.

"Detecting no inbound threats." Lt Commander Burk told Tom.

"Picking up something on subsurface. An impact on the water. It's too big to be a missile." AWS Wright told them.

"It's got to be the UAV." Lt Commander Burk told Tom, he moved away taking a beat as Mike, his sister and Ravit had come through. They had saved the Nathan James.

"Break EMCON. Try Cobra team." Tom ordered.

"Yes, sir." Lt Granderson said.

* * *

"They're in here! Come on! Give me a hand! Let's breach the door!" Another voice from outside shouted, it shouldn't take much as the gun fire had weakened the door frames. Mike shook his head as these guards were morons just announcing their plans so loudly.

He, Ravit and Sasha were moving around the room pushing furniture around building their own cover for when the room was breached. They all knew this was probably the end for them as they only had so much ammo and Shaw seemed to have an endless amount of warm bodies to throw at them.

"There's got to be a dozen guards out there. I have a grenade." Ravit said pragmatically.

"We'll call that phase two for when the door opens and majority of them have poured in." Mike said as he wondered why she bothered with it. She gave a shrug and pocketed it away but he hadn't missed the glint of excitement at making something explode.

"Cobra team, this is Nathan James, come in." Lt Granderson's voice said over comms but they all ignored it as they kept their eyes on the two main doors into the room. There was still a lot of gunfire going on out there which made Mike wonder if they even knew how to breach a room.

Slowly the gunfire dissipated until there was nothing but silence, Mike slid a glance to Sasha and Ravit wondering if they had noticed the same. They had, but they didn't have time to discuss it as the doors to their right were slowly being pushed open. They all turned their weapons in direction of the door and waited; ready.

A couple seconds later, Burk's head appeared in the space. Mike relaxed his grip as they were safe. Lt Granderson's voice piped over comms again.

"You can get that." Mike told Sasha as he and Ravit moved to help open the door.

"Nathan James, this is Cobra team on Navy Red, over." Sasha said.

"Cobra team, Nathan James. You saved our ass. I'm not gonna lie... We sure are glad to hear your voice.

"Head on a swivel. The White House is secure." Sasha said with a smile as Green, Burk and Jeter came into the room. Meylan and his team were on the perimeter.

"Hello?!" Val's voice shouted over comms making everyone in the room wince in pain at the volume.

"Dial it down, Val. We can hear you." Mike said with a frown as his ear drum panged with pain at her shouting at them. He didn't bother to question how she got onto their comms line as Wolf and his team were with her.

"Great, you need to get to private airport now. Shaw has a plane ready go and has Sam and Ashley with her." Val told them.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Get to your cars now, Wolf and his team are enroute as we speak. I'll give you directions." Val told them.

"Let's go!" Mike told them all.

* * *

"Rachel, it's not your fault. We all sent our kids to the school." Lena said as she rubbed Rachel's back. She felt like such a bad parent for allowing Ashley and Sam to be kidnapped.

"I should've known they would be taken. He's the CNO, his children are what matters to him most." Rachel said, she blinked back her tears as she was scared for Ashley and Sammy's lives. She was scared for the twins as she wondered when they would be taken. How was she supposed to protect her children when she barely fought for Ashley and Sammy.

"Val says she's found them. They are sending everyone after the kids. They'll be safe." Kara added.

"I couldn't protect them." Rachel said, Kara moved to her other side and sat down. She held Rachel by the shoulder in a firm grip to get her attention. She leaned forward and made firm eye contact with Rachel so the woman would hear her.

"Rachel, I'm a highly skilled sailor who can shoot with better accuracy than her Special Forces husband. I couldn't stop my own child from being kidnapped. It doesn't make us bad or unfit parents when the situation is completely out of our control. It's how we choose to act after the fact that is. You tried to find out where they went and came up empty but we didn't stop. We contacted Val and she got on it. They will be rescued in less than 48 hours. That is a win and we have to take our victories where we can get them." Kara told her.

* * *

"Get them onto the plane." Allison ordered as she yanked Ashley roughly out of the car by her arm before pulling Sam out. She pushed them towards the leer jet that was waiting for them. A soldier came over and escorted the children onto the jet, she walked up to the pilot.

"It's time for us to get going." She told him.

"Where's Mrs. Price?" he asked.

"Chandler's people killed her, and they're probably not far behind us. We need to get out of here." she told him, he gave a nod and scurried up the stairs and into the jet. She followed behind him as the general shouted orders to his men on the ground.

"Eyes on! Formation. Down! Hold your fire!" The General shouted as an truck raced across in front of the open air hangar. Parking it right in the way of the plane. Three men jumped out and took cover behind the tray bed of the vehicle.

* * *

"I count a shit load of guns." Cruz grumbled to Wolf and Miller as they held their ground. This was insanity but Val assured them that the others were less than five minutes away. But it felt like Val was exaggerating that ETA.

"Just got to hold our ground." Wolf said with more confidence than the three of them felt.

"They are all Army." Miller commented as he needed to fill in the silence.

"You're outnumbered, out gunned. I suggest you move your vehicle." The guy in charge told them as he stood on the stairs of the leer jet. Luckily, they didn't have to say anything as two more vehicles raced up to their side. Wolf and the others gave a brief sigh of relief as it was their guys. They all jumped out of their cars and Mike came round to stand with Cruz and Wolf and Miller.

"My name's Captain Mike Slattery of the United States Navy! Put down your weapons, soldiers!" he ordered in a firm and loud voice.

"We don't report to you!" One of the soldiers shouted back, one of them lowered their weapons. But Mike pushed forward not being deterred.

"I've been authorized to board that plane and arrest Allison Shaw by order of President Howard Oliver!" Mike told him.

"Stand your ground, Corporal! President Oliver is a criminal! So is Captain Chandler!" The General said from the safety of the leer jet as he had moved inside for cover. Mike wondered if the man was military at all as he was wearing his BDUs incorrectly but the soldiers on the ground listened to him. It made him wonder if they hadn't gotten the memo of the military working together but obviously not as no one was wavering in lowering their weapons.

"You'll never get out of here. And even if you do, got RPGs standing by to take down that plane." Mike told him, the General ducked back into the plane and then re-emerged a few seconds later.

"Ms. Shaw is prepared to negotiate her terms of surrender!" he told them.

* * *

Tom felt sick to his stomach as he waited for the phone to ring. He'd told Val to send out the information about the camps. She had pre-empted his order by a few hours but at least the military would be able to save their families. It didn't help his kids, the small blessing was that Rachel and the twins weren't with them.

"This is Captain Tom Chandler." Tom said into the phone.

" _Daddy?_ " Ashley's voice came on the line, she sounded like she was in tears. His stomach churned and his heart twisted painfully as he wanted to save her and soothe her hurts.

"Ashley?" he asked.

" _Daddy, they took us_." Ashley told him, he knew this thanks to Mike preparing him with the news. But it was still a shock to know his children were pulled into the danger. It made him not just afraid for Ashley and Sammy but also for Rachel and the twins. Were they ok? He had no clue as the families and the camps were a situation that was influx.

"You're gonna be all right, okay? Just..." Tom started but Allison's voice came over the line.

" _Now, Captain, let's just get down to business. I'd like to leave St. Louis._ " Allison told him in a business like tone.

"You listen to me. You touch my son or my daughter, I will hunt you down and I will kill you." Tom promised her.

 _"You were gonna do that either way. That's why I'm willing to make a deal. A trade. Your children for you. See you in four hours._ " Allison said, she hung up the phone before Tom could respond.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

* * *

Four hours later,

Tom stepped out of the SUV that had transported him from the airport to the chartered area where the standoff was happening. He winced at the afternoon sunlight as he walked to Sasha and Mike. He knew they had a better idea of what was going on but he only had one thing on his mind.

"We've done some early recon, come up with a few different options. They still need work but..." Sasha started but Tom cut her off.

"I don't want options. I want my kids back." Tom said as he stopped to look at the scene before him. There were soldiers looking tense as they stood with their guns at the ready to fire at a moment's notice while the Nathan James side were relaxed but ready to fire back if necessary.

"That's part of every plan we've got. We got to be smart about this." Mike told Tom.

"It's my family, Mike. I'm not taking any chances." Tom told him.

"I'm going with you." Sasha told him as she pulled off her rifle and took out her side arm.

"Absolutely not." Tom told her.

"You go in there alone. You risk them killing all three of you." Sasha told him, he winced as she was right. He was so thoroughly focussed on getting his kids out that he hadn't thought about all the angles. He needed to have back up. But it wasn't going to be Sasha, their father couldn't lose both of them.

"I agree but not you." Tom told her, he looked to those around them, "Wolf, Ravit; you're with me." he told them, picking them purely because he knew Wolf was a skilled fighter in close quarters and his kids knew Ravit. Sasha looked hurt by his choice but accepted it as she returned her side arm to her holster and picked up her rifle again.

Tom turned to Mike, "If anything happens to me." he began but emotions got the better of him that he couldn't finish the sentence.

"We'll take care of Sam and Ashley. You have my word." Mike promised him. Tom nodded; grateful to have Mike as a friend.

"Let's go." he told Wolf and Ravit, the two nodded as they passed their rifles to others in the group and followed Tom into no man's land. The General left the safety of the plane to meet them at the bottom of the stairs.

"Just you." he told Tom.

"She's here to take my kids off that plane." Tom said in a firm tone so the man knew there was no negotiation on his terms before he tilted his head to Wolf. "He's here to make sure you don't shoot me while that happens." Tom told him. The General and he locked eyes for a moment in battle of dominance to see who would back down first.

"Fine," the General replied backing down first which proved to Tom that the man was not Army nor a General which made him boil as this imposter sided with a woman who'd use children as a bargaining chip to get what she wanted.

* * *

"If that plane takes off, we're never gonna see him again." Sasha said as they watched Tom get onto the plane followed by Wolf and Ravit.

"We have options. Get the kids off, do what we got to do." Mike told her.

"Plan B?" she asked him in a low voice.

"Get to it." He ordered, she gave a nod as she pulled away from her post and walked over to the car Tom had come in and

* * *

"Ok, IV out." Rios said as he applied pressure to the site to stem the bleeding. He would of let Kate do it but she had bruises on the back of her hands which made it painful to use them. He wasn't worried as it was a common symptom of anemia, those at Los Alamos hadn't taken care in placing their IV lines. They seemed more driven by the pursuit of 'science' than patient care. He used the word 'science' loosely for what was done to the people there.

Once he was done compressing the site he placed a band aid over the site and looked to Kate. She looked positively wrecked but he wasn't in any better shape himself. He was however grateful the hospital had staff so it wasn't all on him. The nursing staff were a real godsend as they helped Kate get ready for her first steps out bed.

"Jumper time."Jed said with a light tone, Rios stepped back and watched as Tom's father pulled a Navy sweatshirt hoodie over Kate's head like she were a toddler. But it was good to see Kate smile as she was swamped in the Captain's jumper.

"Ok, ready to get up?"Rios asked.

"Yes."Kate replied, Rios held out his hands to her. She slowly swung her legs of the bed which were encased in light blue jogger pants that were definitely not the Captains but fit Kate's frame. She placed her hands in his and gingerly placed her feet on the floor.

"All I want is for you to get up every couple hours if you're up for it and take a few steps around the room and then back to bed. Don't do it alone or push yourself. This is a marathon not a sprint." He told her as they started walking slowly. He could feel her muscles struggle with just the exertion of carrying her weight.

"Got it." she said as she concentrate on not tripping over her own feet.

* * *

Tom stepped into the main cabin, he felt like someone had sucked all the air out of the small space as he saw his kids sitting in the back with guns trained on them.

"You guys all right?" he asked them, ignoring Allison's posture but counting the men, two pilots, three guards. If his kids weren't there, he would've tried something but he'd never risk his kids' life on such a risky move.

"We're okay, Daddy." Ashley replied but her voice wavered as she like Sammy were scared and on the verge of tears.

"Here I am. Now let them go." Tom implored Allison, she smiled smugly satisfied as she made him wait a few seconds before stepping out of the way. Tom crouched down as his kids ran to him. They rushed into his arms and held onto them tightly as they cried in relief and sadness.

"Daddy!" they cried in his arms.

"It's all right, it's Okay." He told them, trying to reassure them, he wanted to hold them forever but pulled back to get a better look at them. He frowned as he saw the dried blood on their skin.

"Ashley, Sammy. Are you okay?" he asked them as he tried to check them for injuries.

"It's not mine. They killed Mrs Price." Ashley told him, Tom saw their strained features and his heart constricted at the trauma they had suffered by what they had witnessed. But there just wasn't time.

"Ok, listen, Ravit is gonna take you." Tom told them, he rose to his feet and Ravit gestured for the kids.

"You'll be all right. Come on, guys. Let's go. Okay, go with Wolf." She said softly to his kids as she pulled them out of the way.

"Daddy, what about you?" Ashley asked turning back to see that Tom wasn't following them.

"Ashley. It's okay, just go." he told her, she looked ready to dig in her feet but she saw hiw expression and listen to Ravit as she motioned for Ashley.

"Okay. We got to go. Come on." Wolf said, he looked a little perplexed by Ravit taking his place but he didn't hesitate as he took the kids off the plane. Tom watched as his kids left the plane before he turned his attention to Ravit wondering what she was up to.

"You too." He told Ravit, She looked around for a moment before she gave a nod.

"Be safe, Captain." Ravit told him, she moved out of the plane.

* * *

Mike looked up at the plane and saw Ravit walk down the stairs. Their eyes connected and he sensed she was up to no good but wasn't going to stop her. So instead he helped her.

"All right, move the trucks! Move them! Move them!" he ordered to the others. The teams reluctantly moved the cars out of the way while the soldiers came out of the hanger in a line formation to protect the jet. They seemed more concerned about Mike and his crew before them than about anyone being behind them. The jet's engines were already revving up as the jet slowly taxied out.

Mike looked past the soldiers and watched Ravit slip off the stairs and run under the belly of the jet to hatch. He turned away so the soldiers wouldn't look behind them. But he knew Ravit was now on the plane. Plan B was coming along rather effortlessly.

* * *

"Do you hear that?" Kara asked Rachel, she wondered if she was hallucinating as it sounded like helicopters. She rose from the lounge and placed Frankie into her crib basket before she stepped outside. She looked up in the air, her eyes widened as she saw a black hawk helo fly over the camp. It wasn't the only one.

"What is it?" Lena asked.

"Keep the kids inside." Kara told her, she closed the door on Lena and moved carefully across the road to the units closest to the fence. She looked into the distance and saw tanks and trucks stop a far distance from minefield.

"Denizens of Camp Utopia, please return to your dwellings immediately." Played over the PA system before an alarm rent through the air. It repeated again and Kara watched as everyone rushed to their homes. She looked out to horizon and then up to see the helos stop at the guard tower.

She heard the sound of gun fire in the distance but reflexively hugged the wall of a building for safety. She looked to see where the gunfire had come from but knew only that it had to come from the main building that was the entry point into the camp. But it was too early to be the Army rescuing them, they were supposed to wait until nightfall.

She wanted to move towards the gun fire but felt herself stop. She stopped not because she didn't want to fight but because she was ill equipped to fight. She had no vest, no gear, no gun but she did have to look after Frankie. Her fears and anxiety over her own child won out and she went back to the house. She'd wait for the fight to reach her and keep her baby safe.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to San Diego." The Pilot continued his spiel of the local time and weather and then onto information of how disembarkement procedures would proceed.

"Thank god, I need a smoke." Jesse said from her seat. Her legs were dead weight thanks to Misato who was crashed out in her lap. Hours of her tiny weight had cut off circulation to her legs but she's survive. Her problem was she had no idea where she and Misato were going but she'd find them a place. Then some food, showers and sleep. Somewhere in the mix find a way to contact Sasha. She was definitely going to be surprised.

"You and the kiddo can stick with us. We'll get you through the red tape." Tex told Jesse, Kat stretched in her chair looking uncomfortable as the rest of them. Luckily they would be the first off the plane as it was easier to get the able bodied people out of the way. While Anna had been air sick through the turbulent flight; she was better thanks to meds and IV fluids. Hell, she looked perkier than anyone else in their tiny group.

"You sure?"Jesse asked him as she didn't want to overstay her welcome with them more than she had.

"Yeah, you're family and family looks after to one another."he told her in a casual manner like it was how it was. Jesse believed him, she felt her chest tighten slightly with a mix of pain and joy as she remembered her family but also because she never thought hearing those words would mean something to her. But they did.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Tom asked Allison, he leaned over to watch through the window as Wolf helped Ashley and Sammy into a SUV that promptly drove away from the area. At least one of his wishes was being upheld. His children would be safe. It still left him with one problem which was how he was going to get off the plane. His odds of not getting shot were very slim.

"It's a big world. There are a lot of nice places." Allison told him.

"And when we get there, you kill me." Tom said as it was clearly the plan.

"That is the plan, yes but only because you are a constant thorn in my employers' ass." Allison informed him.

* * *

"I'm back in the inner sanctum." Val quipped as she sat in the shot up command centre of the Old Court House. Marines had been dispatched from Norfolk to secure the Old Court House in the absence of the Nathan James' teams.

Val had been dropped off by Will before he went to return to his people. He was liaising with the Military somewhere else to make sure none of his people were harmed in the current mission to release the families.

"I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself." Jacob remarked as he sat back in one of the few chairs that were working.

"You could have said 'no'." Val told him as she happily typed away on her computer. She was tracking everyone and was glad all was going well. Only if one ignored the situation with the Captain but she didn't really care too much about him. Sure, it would suck if he died but the man had a knack of escaping impossible situations. So Val wasn't too concerned.

"No one says no to the President. Now I have to sit on the story of a lifetime."Jacob said with a disgruntled sigh.

"Write a memoir." Val told him, "I doubt anyone will want to read it and good luck finding a publisher but hey, at least you were there." she added pulling a face. Oliver snorted a laugh at them as he sat down at the table with them.

"It's good to see I have some power." Oliver commented in an amused manner. "What's the status out there?"he asked Val.

"five of six camps have been liberated. Anna and the injured soldiers have landed in San Diego from Japan." Val told him.

"Ok, let me know when that sixth camp is freed. Jacob, we need to get my office back in shape for my first address to the nation." Oliver told him.

"Yes, Mr President." Jacob said.

"Quick question." Val said as the men rose from their chairs. They both looked to her. "What about Michener?" she asked.

"We still don't know the facts of that situation. So, if you can locate him, then I'll think on what to do until then we have more important matters to attend." Oliver told her, Val gave a nod and turned back to her computer.

* * *

"Now?" Danny asked Mike as he and the others stood in formation mirroring the soldiers as they all moved in lines parallel to one another. It was like a terrible Mexican standoff.

"Not yet." Mike said to him a low voice. He looked at the soldiers wondering which one would be the strongest link; the one who'd sway the others into action. Then he remembered the corporal who didn't mind speaking out of turn.

"Corporal! The CNO of the United States is on that plane. He's one of your Military leaders from the Naval branch. A brother in arms." Mike said, he couldn't claim Tom was these soldiers' leader as they were all Army.

"Don't listen to him." The General told his men as he kept to the middle of the pack. Standing with them but not in the line, Mike ignored him but made note to point it out later.

"As long as you wear those uniforms, you're sworn to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. The woman on that plane is the enemy. Your General is a fraud which means you do not have to follow his orders, you know that!" Mike told the Corporal but he made eye contact with all the men.

"That's enough, Captain!" The General shouted.

"You were all coerced into service. You follow a man who can't even wear his rank properly. But you don't have to anymore. Your families, your loved ones are being liberated from the camps as we speak."

"Don't listen to him! He's lying, he's the enemy!"

"I'm not your enemy, I know you're feeling tired and disillusioned. But it's not too late to choose the right side! Surrender now. Lay down your arms. Join us." Mike told them.

"No one's joining anyone! Keep those weapons up!" The General shouted as even he saw the men around him wavering. Mike knew he could win this, that the men opposite them would believe they were free to make a choice.

* * *

"They have Ashley and Sammy. Kate is in San Diego, no fatalities." Kara said with relief as she read out the message that was being sent over the radio. She looked at the relief everyone in the room felt at the news. She just wished she could share it with the rest of the Nathan James crew families but they were still on lock down.

"Thank god." Rachel said letting out a breath she'd been holding ever since Sammy and Ashley had been taken. Lena wrapped her arms around Rachel pulling her into a hug.

"I told you everything would be fine." Lena said.

"Attention all; this is the camp has been commandeered by the United States Army. We ask that you all remain in your houses until we've finished a head count. Once we have, we will organise transport for you all to be returned to your homes. Thank you for your patience." A voice said over the P.A.

"It's over." Kara said with a smile to Rachel and the others. "We're going home!" she said gleefully; Maddy, Rachel and Lena smiled while Zoe cheered and Scout barked. The babies however cried thanks to exuberance of Zoe and Scouts' exuberance which made the older women chuckle as they went to soothe the babies.

"We'll have to pack." Lena said with a grin.

* * *

"Killing Christina Slattery. Was that always part of the plan?" Tom asked as he sat down, he was still trying to formulate an out.

"No, though that was partially your fault. If you'd just stayed on the plane in Hong Kong, he would've folded. But Christina was in his ear, we couldn't have that, so she would've been disappeared quietly eventually but with you ruining our initial plan we had to adapt our timeline. We needed Michener out of the way quickly without the palava of a state funeral. Killing her and framing Michener for her murder worked out rather well." Allison said smugly.

"Sounds it except those who suffered her loss." Tom remarked.

"Her daughters were better off with her. Unlike Kate, Christina was a perpetually loser who leeched off of people in power. If the plague has taught me anything; it's that there are winners and there are losers. If you want to win, you have to fight. Kate, when she fights; it's beautiful and bloodied." Allison said in appreciation that surprised Tom as he never thought the woman had such a cold, dark streak in her.

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it." Tom remarked.

"It's the only way to look at it, Captain." "I come from a small town. Everybody knew everyone. People left their doors unlocked. Until the virus came, and they tore each other apart to stay alive. The man who ran the safe zone, he locked my sister and my nephew and my mother out, not because they were sick... but because he wanted more food for himself. And then the virus did come, and, one by one, I watched them die. He killed them, so I killed him. And since then, we've been doing things my way. I make the choices. No one can appreciate the fight until they lose some skin in it." Allison told him.

Tom was about to argue her viewpoint when the sound of a gun with a silencer sounded. The two guards at the back fell down as Ravit came through, Allison jump up but Tom kicked one of her feet up and she stumbled to the floor. He got out his chair and fought guard behind him and knocked him out with a two punch combo before killing the man with his own weapon.

* * *

Sasha sat at her perch waiting for the call. She had the view of the cockpit from her scope and counted the two pilots.

" _Now,"_ Danny said over the comm. Sasha fired a couple of shots in succession of one another. The window of the cockpit imploded from the shot as she hit the one of the pilots with a direct headshot.

"Shit." She cursed under her breath as the first shot and the broken window had spooked the second pilot as he managed to dodge her shot for him and get into the main cabin to relative safety.

* * *

"Your six!" Ravit told Tom, he turned and shot the pilot that tried to scurry out of the cockpit. He dropped to the floor dead and Tom turned the gun on Allison who was the only from her group alive.

"Get up." Tom told Allison, she rose to her feet, there was no fear in her eyes. No contempt, just patronising smugness.

"Go ahead. Take me away. It won't matter. Somebody else will take my place, somebody who sees the world for what it is and seizes the opportunity. The people are too wounded and scared to think for themselves. Today they follow you, but tomorrow, they will find another golden calf to worship. That much I've learned. Are you so-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as Ravit walked up behind Allison and pistol whipped the back of her head. Allison crumpled to the floor unconscious.

Tom looked to Ravit incredulously and she gave him a bored shrug. "She talks too much and I'm hungry." Ravit told him.

"Are you kidding me?" Tom asked her, still shocked at what she done but also grateful as he'd wanted to pull the trigger on her just for what she had done to his children.

"Missouri has the death penalty. Let them finish the job. Can we go? I want to make sure our families are ok and get some food." Ravit said.

"Yeah." Tom said as she was right, they had better things to do than listen to Allison's diatribe.

* * *

"You hear that? Either way, it's over. " Mike told the men as the jet's engines died down and the Jet had completely stopped. He stepped out his line and held his hands out in surrender as he walked up to the corporal.

"Stand down. You know it's the right thing to do. You won't be punished for making the right choice." Mike promised him. The corporal looked at him for a long moment and then pulled his rifle off his body. He laid it on the ground at his feet and looked to Mike.

"Is my family really safe? They were in California camp called Eden." The Corporal said.

"Eden camp was disbanded over 10 hours ago. They were all in good health and being given aid to return to their homes. The other families are being recovered and returned to their homes in the next forty eight hours. But there will lists of survivor's names up within the next three hours." Mike told him, the corporal gave nod and held his hands out in surrender. Mike looked to the others feeling a sense of accomplishment as the rest soon followed suit.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

* * *

 _"I speak to you today a humbled man. I've made mistakes. I was silent when I should have spoken out. I ran when I should have stood and fought. But in adversity, we find strength and courage."_ Oliver spoke in a calm and strong manner that imbued a sense of a confidence and hope. It was exactly what the people needed.

 _"The great Naval Captain Nimitz once said "God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even though I think it hopeless." Stand with me. Fight with me. Because together, we can move forward. Together, we can be strong again_." Oliver said, he spoke from St Louis.

They had left Green, Miller, Cruz and Ravit behind while the rest rejoined them on the journey back to San Diego. Their families were still in transit from the camp they had been held in. But he would call his Mom's home and she should be there by now. He wished he could've been there but he still had his duty to the Ship and he wanted to take Kate back to St Louis not have her travel alone.

"Good speech." Mike commented as he turned away from the TV in the Jet. The President was still addressing the nation, but Mike could no longer listen. He was just too tired to care anymore. He pressed his hands to his face feeling completely drained.

"They found Michener, he didn't kill Christina." Tom told him as he sat down opposite Mike.

"I don't care." Mike told him, he truly didn't. He was tired of the politics, Christina was dead; he didn't care who killed her and he didn't care that it wasn't Michener as it changed nothing. It meant nothing, it changed nothing for him.

"Allison said something about having employers, which means she was not the mastermind behind all of this." Tom said.

"It's the Immunes, they wanted to break the country down and then swoop in and take over one region at a time. Until they owned all of America." Sasha said sitting next to Tom and looking to Mike. "They have most of Europe, they won it by conquering every country by creating a divide between the classes. They rescue and elevate the masses from poverty." she added.

"They tried that way with saying the Immunes were chosen by God. Looks like they won't be giving up on us after all." Tom said thoughtfully.

"No, they re determined and if the Green Mist the first gen of the biological weapons... who knows what's next." Sasha said, Mike listened as Tom and Sasha discussed their options and thoughts on what the next targets would be food crops being high on the list.

All the talk made him feel burnt out and anxious to escape but he sat in his chair and wore a thoughtful expression; pretending to listen. But all the while he felt this feeling of dread as in the pit of his stomach it was never going to end. He was damn tired of there not being a respite as all he saw was months of deployment and time away from his family. Thoughts of what he'd be missing and how damn unfair and frustrating it was being forever torn between duty and his family.

"I gotta make a call." Mike said leaving the discussion.

* * *

"Nanna, Scout peed on the floor!" Zoe told Lena making a face of disgust as Scout walked by her side looking happy as always. Lena who was in the midst of making dinner pulled a roll of papertowel out of the cupboard. She pulled off four sheets and held it out to Zoe.

"Here's some paper towel. Wipe it up and put it in the bin. Then wash your hands." Lena told her, Zoe didn't look impressed with her.

"Ew." Zoe said making a face. Lena just smiled at her.

"You did the same when you were his age. On you go." Lena said, she raced to pick up the phone. "Hello?" she said into the receiver.

" _Mom?_ " Lena smile brightened as she recognised her son's voice on the line.

"Michael, it is so good to hear your voice. Are you ok? Is Kate alright? When are you coming home." She asked.

" _Yeah, I'm nearly in San Diego. I have some business to wrap up and then Kate and I will head home. Hopefully we'll be there tomorrow afternoon. If not I'll call ahead and let you know._ " he told her, she could hear the fatigue in his voice and his choice of language was very curt and precise as if he didn't have a lot of time to talk. She knew the voice well from whenever he called her when he was deployed.

"I look forward to seeing you both." Lena said warmly as she was so glad to hear his voice.

" _So do we, are you all ok?_ " he asked her.

"Perfect." Lena assured him.

" _Good, I wish I could talk but_ -" he started but she cut him off.

"You have to go." she said saving him the pain of having to say it.

" _I'll call later when I have more time. Send my love to the kids. Love you Mom_." Mike told her.

"I love you too." Lena told him.

* * *

Rachel sat curled on the couch watching Lena and Maddy prepare dinner while Zoe raced around the house with Scout. The twins were down for a nap in the crib that was set up in the guest bedroom which Kara usually used.

When they had been dropped off, the house had been a mess. It made Rachel glad when Lena insisted she stay. She wasn't ready to face the state of her house alone. But she did wonder if she had missed a call from Tom. He'd know to call her at Lena's if she wasn't home. At least she hoped so as she wanted to hear his voice and know if he had Ashley and Sam with him.

She heard the sound of keys in the lock of the front door, Scout heard it too as he barked loudly and raced for the door. Rachel turned in her chair and watched as the door opened, Ravit smiled as she came in.

"Hey everyone," Ravit said as she tossed her keys into the bowl on a table by the door.

"RAVIT!" Zoe shouted excitedly, she ran over to her and Ravit lifted the little girl into her arms while Scout jumped all over her legs.

"Hey little one," Ravit said to her.

"You're alive." Zoe told her, Ravit and the others chuckled.

"I am and I brought some friends with me." Ravit said she stepped out of the way, letting Ashley and Sam step into the house. Rachel's eyes went wide and filled with tears of relief and joy as she rose from the couch.

"Hey, there you are." Lena said with a smile, Rachel moved to them and pulled Ashley and then Sam into her arms; hugging them tightly. She pulled back slightly and checked them quickly for injuries but they looked fine. Just pale and drawn. Ashley was crying while Sammy had bloodshot eyes like he had been crying.

"I was so worried about you. Are you ok?" Rachel asked them, they both nodded and Ashley wrapped her arms around her. Rachel hugged her tightly. "We're going to be ok, we'll stay here tonight and tomorrow we'll go back to the house. How does that sound?" she asked them, she felt Ashley nod while Sam gave a nod in agreement.

"Excellent, now can someone please make sure Scout doesn't get out the front door?" Lena asked them from the kitchen.

"I can do that." Sam said.

* * *

"They said they were in here." Barbara complained as she walked into the room alone, something she hadn't noticed until she looked to Kara to find her gone.

"Mom?" Miller asked in disbelief, emotions of happiness and the grief welled up inside him. His mother was here, he'd been told by the CNO she was dead. He raced across the room and lifted her up into his arms. They laughed and cried as they embraced.

"Put me down before you hurt yourself." Barbara told her son, slightly distressed that she was too heavy to be swung around like a girl but glad her son was alive and well.

"I'm stronger than I look. I thought you were dead, they told me..." he started but his mother stepped up onto the tip of her toes and kissed his forehead. Just as she always did when he was growing up.

"I'm here and very much alive. No way I'm dying until my grandchildren are having children." Barbara told him with a grin while he rolled his eyes and blushed at her not so subtle prodding for him to settle down.

"You're going to be waiting awhile." Val quipped dryly, "Ouch!" she complained as Danny 'accidentally' clipped her over the head with a couple paper files. Barb just shook her head at them before turning her attention to Danny.

"Your wife has been held up-" Barbara started but Kara cut her off.

"I'm here." Kara said as she walked in with Frankie in her arms. Danny placed the files he'd been holding onto the table. He circled around the end and walked straight to her and Frankie as they were all he saw. She smiled brilliantly as she jiggled a grumpy Frankie in her arms. She was the most beautiful woman Danny knew, she took his breath away and all the doubts, aches and pains of the months faded.

"Hey," he said to her, she smiled as they shared a heated look. It was like no time had passed at all, but it had as Frankie was proof of that.

"She's been a complete grump waiting for you." Kara said, she turned her face to Frankie 'Isn't that right?" she asked Frankie, Danny moved in close and smiled; his heart blooming with warmth and love as he lifted his daughter into his arms.

Frankie grunted and let out a loud fart that made them both laugh as she ruined the moment just perfectly. But her mood did brighten, a smile played on her tiny features as she locked eyes with Danny. He smiled softly and held her close. Enjoying the small weight of her body in his arms, he let her grab his thumb with her tiny hand; reminding him of how she was so tiny and perfect. He looked to Kara and the two shared a brief kiss before they both looked down at their daughter.

* * *

"I'll head back to ship, I assume you'll be here?" Tom asked Mike as they were walking through the main quad to the hospital. Tom wanted to check in the crew that had been transferred from Japan as he already knew Kate's status by asking Mike.

"I'm going to see if Kate can be discharged. Rios told me she's in good shape. I'll call when I know my plans but I'll be back on the ship at 0500 hours." Mike told him.

"Ok-" Tom started but was cut off when a familiar voice shouted.

"Commodore!" Both men stopped and turned to find Tex and Jed having coffees on a park bench Tom and Mike had walked past. Neither had noticed the two men as they had been lost in their own thoughts and suffering from a lack of sleep.

"Tex," Tom said with a smile, he and Mike walked up to them.

"You two just walked right by without even a wave. I'm hurt." Tex quipped in good humour as they exchanged handshakes.

"I thought you were in Japan." Tom remarked.

"They gave an option to leave with the Sailors, we took it. We heard about Kate being here and the ladies wanted to socialise." Tex said gesturing to the hospital.

"You got relegated outside." Tom said with amusement.

"When 60% of the conversation is in Japanese, it's usually best to let the girls have the room. Misato thinks Kate is some cartoon character come to life." Tex said with a grin.

"It's true, her cute little face lit up at the sight of Kate. The conversation is a jumble mess of English and Japanese which can be difficult to keep up with." Jed said with his own smile of amusement.

"Misato is here?" Tom asked confused.

"Jesse too, all upstairs. She was hoping of getting a message to Sasha as we all got rooms at a hotel nearby for the night." Tex told him.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Tom said, he looked his father. "I have you booked on the first flight for San Diego tomorrow; but I can change it if you want."

"No, it's fine and Mike; Kate's doing really well. I think Rios will discharge her as long as she is supervised. If you want I can take her back to St Louis with me." Jed told him.

"Thank you, and for staying with her." Mike told him.

"We're all family." Jed told him.

* * *

"She thinks you're the little mermaid because you can't speak. All we need to do is find a fork and you can brush your hair." Anna quipped as she tried to brush her fingers through Kate's hair only to catch on a knot. Kate glowered at her, as she wasn't supposed to talk too much.

Misato was sitting on the bed staring at Kate with big round eyes as she truly believed Kate was a mermaid. That some evil witch stole her voice so she could find her prince charming. But only because Anna confirmed it to her in Japanese. Kate couldn't refute it without hurting herself. Frankly, she didn't want to terrorise the little girl either.

"Or Prince Charming, because one kiss from true love and her voice returned." Kat pointed out before a knock sounded at the door. They all looked to the source to find Mike standing there.

"Cue the music. Come on squirt, time for us to go." Jesse told Misato. She looked between Kate and Mike who only had eyes for one another.

"It's her Prince Charming." Anna told Misato in Japanese, before she helped the girl to the floor. She smiled and ran to Jesse who had her hand out. Anna looked to Kate. "We'll catch up tomorrow." she told her.

Kate nodded and gave a wave as the women left the room, Mike stood out of the way letting them pass. Once they were gone, he walked into the room. Kate drank in the sight of him as it had been too long since she'd seen him.

She pulled the sheets off and got to her feet. Her eyes lit up even though tears filled them. But they were tears of joy and relief. Her eyes filled with tears when his arms closed around her. A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest.

"Hey." He said as he held her tight, his body was warm and solid and he smelled like warm coffee and home. The muscles in his arms bunched as he squeezed her. His grip was hard enough that it almost bruised, but it was exactly what she needed.

"Hey," she repeated roughly, her emotions and her damaged voice box getting the better of her. She buried her face in his neck, clinging tight.

"God I missed you," he whispered against her hair. She raised her head to look at him, and his expression stole the air from her lungs. Yearning and hunger, so strong it echoed inside her. She couldn't hold back another second.

Tilting her head, she kissed him. Mike groaned and cupped her face with one hand and held her steady around the waist with one arm. The kiss quickly turned desperate and hot. The glide of his tongue against hers sent shivers racing across her skin. She was ready to climb him like a tree just to get closer, frantic to feel more of him. Before the kiss could get completely out of hand, he pressed his mouth to hers firmly for one last time and eased back. His eyes smouldered with the promise of more to come later.

"I love you." Kate told him, she closed her eyes as leaned her head against his forehead. Just relishing every pleasurable sensation running through her body, letting him completely distract her.

"I love you too." he told her.

"Is it over?" she asked him, she cupped the side of his face with her hands, her eyes scattering all over his face drinking his features. She wanted to kiss him, she wanted to a hell of lot more than kiss him but just not in the hospital. She might feel tired and weak but she could definitely summon up some energy for Mike.

"No, just beginning." he told her, she looked confused for a moment before it dawned on her.

"Marry me." she told him with a smile. She wish it sounded as husky and sexy as it didn't not that Mike cared as he just grinned.

"First thing on the docket when we get home." he assured her before kissed her again. She tried to keep the kiss going but he pulled away before she could, she could tell he trying to keep in control so didn't push him. Even if it was very tempting. "I spoke with Rios, you're being discharged today and we're getting out of here. I got us a hotel room for the night." he told her.

"Let's go." she whispered against his lips, she was about to kiss him when someone sounded their throat. Mike and Kate turned to see Rios standing awkwardly at the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I thought maybe you'd like to have an ultrasound before you're discharged." Rios offered.

* * *

half an hour later, Sasha sat on her bunk; packing away her clothes and gear. She had no clue where she was going next. From what she heard Japan had closed their borders. She wasn't ready to make a call and see if she was able to go and find Jesse just yet.

There was also the issue of her current status in the world but she didn't get the chance to ponder that as a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." she said, loud enough for the person outside to hear. The door opened and before Sasha could look to see who it was a tiny body slammed into hers. She half laughed and yelped in surprise as she found Misato in her arms.

"Misato." Sasha said, her eyes filled tears of joy as she was so surprised to see her, she looked up and saw Jesse looking down at them.

"Sasha." Misato said with glee. Sasha hugged her tightly, she hadn't expected to see them for months. She hadn't realised how much she missed either of them until this moment.

"When did you two? How?" Sasha asked Jesse as She lifted Misato off her but the little girl latched onto her leg. Jesse just chuckled at Misato and looked to Sasha with expectations.

"They were kicking out all the yanks, so we hitched a ride." Jesse told her as she snaked her arms around Sasha's waist pulling her close.

"I'm glad you're here." Sasha told her.

"Yeah, me too as the kid and I have nowhere better to be." Jesse said.

* * *

"I only saw the ultrasound at 16 weeks." Kate told Mike in a low voice. She winced at the pain of using her voice wishing she could speak as there was so much she wanted to say. Mike held her hand in his and gave her a comforting squeeze as he smiled and looked to the screen.

"The second trimester scan is usually optional unless there are health issues that come into play. But your blood work is fine and you're in good health." Rios told them, he had an obstetrician standing to the side to make sure he didn't miss anything and for Kate and Mike's sake. He could tell they were worried, he didn't blame them after everything that had come to pass.

He moved the wand over Kate's abdomen and adjusted the settings on the machine; a second later a live image came up on the screen. Kate watched as the baby moved turning its back to them, Mike chuckled, she turned to him. Rios talked them through scan but either were really listening as they were too absorbed in the images. Kate was absorbed by Mike's reactions and how his features softened with such profound love as they heard the heartbeat. He looked so happy and full of joy, it made her feel so good to see him looking so.

"Do you want to know the gender?" Rios asked them.

"No." Kate said, not taking her eyes off of Mike who smiled and looked to Rios.

"You heard her, we'll keep it a surprise." Mike said, Kate frowned as Mike's expression grew somewhat upset.

"If you want to know-" Kate started assuming he was just giving into her wishes but Mike cut her off.

"No, I'm good with waiting. I just remembered something but it's not time sensitive.I'm here with you." he assured her, she gave nod wishing she knew what he'd been thinking.


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**

* * *

It was the early hours of the morning, Mike sat on the bed already dressed to return the ship. He watched Kate sleeping, wishing he could stay in bed with her but he had to go.

The only consolation was that he'd be with her later. The realisation of his decision once again sank into him, he expected to feel a sense of defeatism and irrational anger but he just felt in his bones; it felt right. It didn't entirely make him happy but he knew it was ok to not feel good about what he was going to do. He wasn't giving up, he was just letting go.

He lifted the blankets up to cover her shoulders, she stirred away and frowned at him. "Everything ok?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, I just have to get back to ship." Mike said, he wanted to tell her what he was doing. But he didn't, he didn't because he was afraid of what she'd think and because he didn't want to discuss it. It was his decision to make and he was going to make it without anyone's input.

"Just like old times." She said with a sleepy smiles as they started from passionate romps in hotels. He never imagined they'd end up here but was glad they were.

"But I'll be coming back in a few hours for us to fly home." Mike reminded unlike years ago where it was just a kiss goodbye and then nothing until the next email, the next hotel room.

"You sure they can spare you?" she asked him, as she had no clue what he was up to so she was left a little confused.

"Yeah, and you need me; so you and the family are being prioritised." Mike told her.

"I always need you and I always want you but I also understand your duty to the Navy. Anyway I can convince you out of that uniform right now for wake up call?" Kate teased.

"No," Mike said with a grin, he leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her forehead and then lips. "But I want to find you right here when I get back." he added.

"Aye, Aye. Mon Capitaine!" Kate replied with a salute. Mike smiled and watched her bury herself under the blankets before he headed out of the room.

* * *

"Once Mike is back on board, I hand over the reigns; I'll be on the next plane out." Tom told Rachel over the phone smiling as it was good to hear her voice. He couldn't wait to get home and spend some time with her and the kids. He needed the downtime after the last few weeks.

" _I can't wait to see you, you know we're overdue for some fun_." Rachel told him, his smiled enjoying her salacious tone as he liked the idea of some 'adult' fun.

"We can have a date night." Tom suggested.

" _A date, what a novel concept for us_." Rachel mused.

"Think about it, I have to go; Mike is here." Tom told her, as Mike stepped into the stateroom.

" _Speak later, I love you_." Rachel told him.

"I love you too, bye." he said, he waited for her reply and then hung up the phone. He turned to Mike. "You're early." he said in surprise as it was only 4:30am. Only for him as he'd been up all night getting through the paperwork and reports. He just wanted it squared away so he could go home faster.

"Yes, I came to give you this." Mike said as he held out the envelope to him.

"What is this?" Tom asked carefully as he didn't like the look of the envelope let alone the demeanor Mike was displaying. He looked incredibly serious and resolute.

"My letter of resignation." Mike told him, Tom blinked as he was taken aback by the shock.

"Mike-" Tom started, but Mike cut him off.

"I don't need to be talked out of it. I've made my decision. I'm good with it." Mike told him.

"I don't accept it." Tom said flat out, Mike was his best friend but he was also one of the best sailors he knew. He wasn't ready to let the man walk away. He was career Navy like Tom. They didn't retire until they were so old they couldn't pass the physical.

"You don't get a choice. My contract expired last week, this is more of a formality. I'm resigning instead of renegotiating and re-upping." Mike pointed out, Tom was surprised, he had let something like that slide by without notice. But he believed Mike when he said his commission was finished.

"Why do you want to leave?" Tom asked him calmly, he knew he should be an adult and take the envelope but right now he was pissed. He was pissed that Mike would just give up and quit without even discussing it with Tom before handing him a letter of resignation.

"I finished my contract and I've decided it's time to leave." Mike said plainly.

"Is this about Kate? Did she-" Tom started but Mike cut him off and shook his head.

"No, she doesn't know. We haven't discussed it and it's my career; my choice." Mike told him in a tone that brokered no arguments.

"Look, I can give you anything you want. You want a permanent posting stateside; it's yours. I can give you time off to be with your family and to seek counselling for what happened with Takehaya-"

"You're not listening. I'm retiring, Tom. I want out." Mike told him firmly, there was a dark edge to his voice.

"I just don't understand, why would you walk away? The mission isn't over, our problems have just gotten bigger and you want to leave." Tom argued.

"The mission will never be over." Mike said frustrated before he took a breath and exhaled. "Tom, you find more and more problems that need to be fix without even fixing the ones right in front of you and no matter what we do- it's never good enough. It wasn't good enough we found a cure, it wasn't enough that we distributed the damn cure and then we had to get ourselves pulled into Asia's problems! We lost two ships and came back with nothing but bodies." Mike told him.

"You think it's my fault?" Tom asked, Mike shook his head.

"No, I think we all made our choices in the moment that were right even if the outcome wasn't a positive one including me but you have to admit we're on a never ending cycle of crises. I'm over it, I'm over the bad luck, I'm over the speeches of buck up and keep working as it will all sort itself out because it doesn't. We just keep trying and fighting in the hope things will swing our way but they don't. While you can point out a 101 positive things we've achieved and how we can achieve more but I haven't got the energy to see it through. I'm tired, I'm burnt out and all I've thought about for months was coming home. The past weeks, it's all I wanted. Now, take the damn letter and let me go home." Mike told him.

It was then Tom saw the fine cracks in Mike's veneer, he also silently acknowledged that he wasn't surprised by Mike's words or how the man was feeling. When he thought back on it, he'd seen the signs in Mike but had chosen to ignore them. He thought Mike would push past it as Tom had but he was wrong or he'd underestimated what Mike had gone through. Tom too had gone through the same thoughts himself but never had he gotten to the tipping point as Mike had reached.

So instead of acting as CNO wanting to protect his asset; Tom reached out and took the envelope from Mike. Doing what his friend asked of him, it felt terrible and to Tom; it felt wrong but he knew Mike wouldn't take his advice.

"Thank you, I'll be off the ship in an hour." Mike told him.

"Are you sure about this?" Tom asked him.

"Yes," Mike said with absolute certainty.

* * *

Kara wore an amused expression as she watched Danny come into the bedroom with a breakfast tray and Frankie strapped to his chest in a papoose.

"Breakfast in bed." he said, Kara pushed up in bed and enjoyed the flourish of Danny placing the tray table down in the middle of the bed. It was laden with egg in a heart shaped hole toast, bacon, bowl of berries and Ketchup. There was coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. Enough food for both of them. She was definitely being spoiled and enjoying it.

"Thank you." Kara said as she leaned over and kissed Danny. He moved over to his side of the bed and unclipped Frankie out of the papoose; looking mighty pleased with himself. He definitely had reason to be happy with himself as it was the first time Kara had slept in; in months.

"You're welcome, Frankie woke up; so we figured we'd make breakfast." Danny said as he propped Frankie up in the middle between them.

"Really? and what did Frankie make?" Kara asked teasingly.

"Distractions, so many that I had to nuke the eggs; just a warning to let them cool down for a few seconds." Danny said. Kara chuckled as she picked up one of the orange juices and took a sip.

"You're doing better than me." Kara quipped, she looked to Frankie who was being the sweetest angel; just watching them. Danny was acing the parenting duties but he had admitted to her that he'd read all the parenting books and bugged a few officers who had kids on the ship for tips.

"Nah, you did all the hard work while I was away. Just cause I managed one breakfast in bed does not make me a champion. Let's see how I go in the next few months." Danny said in a self-effacing manner.

"Ok." Kara said with a grin as she liked the sound of him being home with her and Frankie.

* * *

Mike walked out of the P-way and onto the deck for the last time. His arm up as he walked and saluted the sailors that once been under his command saluted him. All the familiar faces, people who were family to him, people he'd seen truly grow as sailors standing at attention for him; honouring him as he left the ship.

He felt a horrible pit in his stomach for leaving them, but he made his decision. He had his course set and he knew in his gut that it was the right decision to leave even though it was one of the hardest decisions he'd ever made. Every step felt heavier than the last as he was leaving familiar territory for the unknown. He finally came to the end of the line and stopped and turned to face Tom.

They locked eyes for a moment and Mike saluted him, before Tom returned it.

"Permission to go ashore for the last time." Mike requested, following tradition. He knew it was stupid but he felt like it was the last time he would ever see these people and the Nathan James. But he pushed his emotions away as now was not the time.

"Permission granted." Tom told him, Mike dropped his arm and looked around at all the faces for a moment drinking them in before he turned on his feet and headed for the gangway. He was halfway across it when Tom called for cheering.

Mike wore a closed lip smile at the stern and well unified 'Hip, Hip Horays' of Tom and the crew. A silence fell over the port.

"Don't look back!" Tom shouted as Mike's first step onto 'dry land' was mad. Mike did as he was told, as much as he did want to look back he kept walking forward with eyes straight ahead. He was about twenty steps away from the ship when he saw Kate.

She was like a vision as she stood in the sunlight, in a mint green dress and light grey long line cardigan, her hair whipping in the wind. Suddenly, Tom's order didn't feel so hard to follow and all the reasons he had for leaving made his grief lesson.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her as he was just a foot away from her.

"I didn't want you to be alone." She told him, his eyes burned with tears as he felt a mix of love, happiness and grief rolled up into one messy ball in his chest.

"I love you." he told her.

"I love you," she said before he crushed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. He pulled her tightly against his body, relishing the feel of her being with him. He vaguely heard the wolf whistles and cheers knowing they were coming from the ship. But wasn't going to acknowledge them as he preferred kissing the woman in his arms.

"Let's go home," Kate whispered against his lips before kissing him once more.

* * *

"Stop fidgeting, you're making Misato nervous." Jesse said to Sasha, they were in the hotel restaurant waiting for Jed to arrive for breakfast. Sasha was nervous, she never really explained her sexual orientation to her father but then it wasn't like it came up in conversation. Now she was introducing her girlfriend and newly adopted daughter. Paper work and government approval pending on the adoption but it was all done and dusted in Sasha's mind.

Misato was not nervous, if anything she was completely engrossed in colouring in a dolphin on the table mat the waitress had given them.

"It's just that this is my Dad and I didn't explain to him-" Sasha started to explain but Jesse cut her off.

"He knows." Jesse told her, Sasha blinked as she wasn't quite sure she heard her right.

"He knows?" Sasha asked paling slightly as she wondered if he didn't approve given he was already three minutes late.

"Yeah, he and Tex bonded and he told Jed about us being a couple. He assumed Jed knew, oops. He didn't seem too upset about it." Jesse assured her as she lounged back in her chair and took a sip of her coffee.

"He's late." Sasha told her.

"He's old, old people are allowed to be late as they aren't as spry as us youngins'." Jesse quipped.

"I'm not that old." Jed grouched in good humour as he appeared at the table. Sasha lept out of her chair and moved to him, he held out his arms and she hugged him; feeling relieved he was here.

"Hey Dad, thanks for coming." Sasha told him.

"Like I would refuse breakfast with three beautiful ladies." he said with an amused smile.

"I wanted to formally introduce you to Misato and Jesse." Sasha told him.

"We've already met. Hello, Misato." Jed said to the little girl.

"Herro," Misato replied in a shy and adorable manner as she was watching them all with an eager expression. She was learning English by 'L' sounds were still out of her grasp but she was learning quick.

"Jesse is my girlfriend and we adopted Misato." Sasha rambled ungracefully, she had prepared a whole speech and even an argument but it all went out window. Jed just smiled at her.

"Cat is out of the bag on the that one." Jed told her, Sasha felt a little lightheaded as she was half expecting him to judge her or at least comment negatively about it. She had severely misjudged the situation and lucky for her; she was wrong.

"See, not a big deal." Jesse said as Sasha and Jed sat down.

"You're not upset?" Sasha asked Jed.

"No, why should I be? All I want is for you to be happy." Jed told her, she felt her eyes well up as she was touched by his sentiments. He turned to Misato and spoke in very bad Japanese "You can call me Grandpa or Papa, ok?" he asked her, Misato frowned but then seemed to understand the gist as her eyes lit up.

"Papa" she said pointing at him, he nodded and she pointed to herself. "I am Misato." she told him with a grin, though it sounded more like 'Ai amu Misato'.

"Welcome to the family." He told her while Sasha and Jesse just smiled. "Now, let's get some breakfast." he told them.

* * *

"Home, sweet home!" Tex said as he opened the door to their house. The place had been trashed, obviously the soldiers that had collected people up for the camps had stopped by.

"It's a mess." Anna commented.

"Excuse me, Dad." Kat said as she brushed past him and Anna going straight to her room to assess the damage. Anna and Tex smiled at one another as the priorities of a teenager showed through.

"Should we assess our bedroom too?" Tex asked with a suggestive eyebrow wriggle. She snorted a laugh as it was tempting but she was more interested in making out with him on the lounge with the TV on than cleaning whatever the mess was in their room.

"Nope, we start at the front door and work our way in." She told him.

"You need to rest." Tex reminded her.

"I'm hyped on meds. You should enjoy it while it lasts which I'll say is until the couch is clean." Anna said, Tex chuckled and pulled his cap off, placing on the coat rack by the door.

"Ok, let's get to it." he told her.

* * *

"How you feeling there?" Kate asked Mike pulled the car to a stop outside of the house. Lena, the girls and Scout were inside getting ready for their arrival. The thing was they were home earlier than they said they would be.

"I'm good," he told her and he meant it. Walking away from his career had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done but he knew it was right for him. At least for the time being, as Kate had pointed out. If he wanted, he could always go back- maybe not to the Nathan James but he could return to the Navy. But at the moment, it was the furthest thought in his mind.

"Want to go in or make out in the backseat for a spell?" she asked him with a salacious smile.

"Last time we did that, my Mom caught us." Mike reminded her.

"So true, well tonight we could catch up on some more of our physical changes before we sleep." Kate said, Mike grinned as he liked the sound of that plan. Last night they had lazily caught up with one another but exhaustion got the better of them, so they ended up sleeping more than anything else. But he loved every second of it as he hadn't felt so well rested in weeks.

"Ok, but if we're going to call an early night then we should put in the face time now." he told her.

"If we must." Kate drawled mockingly. Mike chuckled as he got out the car. He moved around to her side and helped her out. She pulled him in for a kiss, showing him a short preview of what to expect later and when she pulled away they were both a little flushed and breathless. "I love you." she told him.

"I love you too, now let's go." he told her, he left his bag in the back as he'd grab it later. They walked up the front path and stopped at the door; together.

"Ready?" she whispered to him.

"Yeah." he said as the sound of a puppy barking sounded followed by a thud against the door before either of them knocked. One could only assume the puppy skated straight into the door and the imagery was hilarious.

"That's your puppy." she told him as they both tried to keep a straight face. Mike knocked on the door and waiting listening to the girls trying to wrangle Scout and Lena grumbling about tripping over said dog. He smiled as it was all just beautiful to him. He knew the shine would wear off but right now, it was perfect.

The door opened and his mother appeared before them with a happy but surprised face. "Oh my goodness!" she practically shouted at them. "Girls, look whose here." she told them.

"Daddy!" Zoe shouted in glee. Mike smiled as she dropped Scout to the floor and ran at him. He crouched down and picked up his little girl into a hug; lifting her off her feet.

"You're home early." Lena said to Kate as the two shared a hug. Kate nodded happily as she let Lena size her up. "Still pregnant. How is my unborn granddaughter?" she asked Kate.

"Healthy though the gender is still a surprise." Kate reminded her.

"Not to me," Lena assured her, Mike laughed as Kate wore a exhausted expression. Clearly, it was a discussion that the two had been having for a while.

"Anyway, we caught an earlier flight home." Kate said before she and Maddy embraced. Lena smiled happily seeing Mike and Kate home.

"We missed you both so much." Zoe told them as Mike placed her back on her feet. She went to Kate for a hug.

"We did." Maddy agreed as she and Mike embraced, it felt good to finally be home and see his daughters. Scout yelped and raced around their feet with happiness.

"I missed you all as well." Mike told them.

"Scout, quiet." Kate told him, the puppy stopped barking but didn't stop vying for belly rubs and attention as he wanted to be in on the action. "Good Scout. Very good." Kate said as she gave the puppy a belly rub.

"How are you all?" Mike asked them as he crouched down to greet Scout, the puppy leaped to his feet and rushed at him. Mike chuckled at the exuberance as he gave the puppy a good rub down. He helped Kate back to her feet and turned to the girls and his mom.

"We're ok, very happy to see you." Lena told him.

"We're very glad to be home." Kate told them, Mike nodded in agreement as he couldn't have said it better himself. "And hungry." she added with a grin.


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61**

* * *

A week later,

"To the left." Tex said, sweat dripping down his back as he and Danny were moving furniture into Sasha and Jesse's new home. "Your other left, Green." Tex ordered with a grunt as they were trying to get the sofa into the room. He was happy no one bar himself, Jesse, Danny and Misato were here for this as moving furniture was real bitch of a task. Especially given Mike's ex wife Christina's custom made, pain in ass, beige monstrosity of a lounge.

Sasha had been asked to take a position in Oliver's administration as Secretary of International Affairs, with it came free housing which was located three houses down from the Chandlers and Slatterys. The house was in good condition but it had been a mess thanks to local hoodlums using it as a place to take their anger out on the world. It had taken a team effort to clean it out and get it back up to code. But Sasha and Jesse were not without help, as they had been fully accepted into the fold.

While during the week, Sasha had work, Jesse and Misato stayed behind to help out and supervise the day to day work. Today, the furniture which belonged to Christina; donated by Mike was going in.

"It's jammed." Danny told him with a groan of frustration as he was trying to pull it through on his end.

"No wiggle room?" Tex asked from the outside.

"Dude, I'm not even holding it up." Danny told him, Tex gave up on his end expecting the lounge to drop to the ground but Danny was right. It was so deeply wedged in the door frame that it held itself up. He took a step back and scratched his head trying to understand why it wouldn't fit.

"It's stuck." Tex surmised with amusement. He wondered how the hell Mike's ex-wife got the lounge into their home as door frame sizes were fairly universal for the block.

"I told you that we should've gone round through the double doors of the back porch." Danny told him.

"It would've gotten stuck in the hallway." Jesse said as she helped Misato climb out the front window into the yard. Tex smiled as Misato ran up to him wearing her very own Tex-esque American flag cap. Unlike his, hers was a little big for her head but she'd grow into it. She stood beside him and mimicked his posture as she looked to the lounge stuck in the doorway.

"Can't we just force it into the house? As in the three of us on this side pushing it?" Jesse suggested.

"It'll bust the door frame." he told her.

"We'll we can't keep it where is it." she said with an amused smile.

* * *

Rachel heard Tom's voice first as she slowly woke up. She wondered if she was dreaming but as she half opened her eyes, her heart fluttered as there he was. She couldn't help but smile as he stood in a navy BDUs pants and navy blue T-shirt. He had both girls in each arm, slowly swaying on his feet.

"Yes, I know missed you both too, but you got be quiet cause Mommy is sleeping." he told them, the girls were not listening as they babbled random noises at him. It was adorable to watch but also a turn on as Rachel drank in the sight of his firm muscles and tapered waist. Then there was that fine ass that she hadn't felt in what felt like year and not weeks. But still, she wanted him.

He must of sensed her checking him out as he turned around and smiled at her. "Hey, did we wake you?" he asked.

"No, when did you get home?" She asked as she got out bed, and walked to him. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and nothing else. Her long hair; loose and mussed up from sleep, she felt a little messy but the way Tom looked at her made her feel like a goddess.

"About ten minutes ago." Tom told her, he wished he was not holding the girls as right now he wanted his arms around the woman in front of him. She pushed up on her tip toes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. It was not enough.

"I think we should put the twins back into their beds, as I'd like to have a proper hello." Rachel told him, he didn't argue as she lifted Olivia out of one arm and cradled the baby girl to her chest. She murmured sweet nothings as she pressed a soft kiss to Olivia's cheek and laid her back into her bassinet. Tom followed suit with Evie, he smiled as the babies were content for the moment.

He turned back to Rachel and closed the space between them. His fingers sank into her hair, his thumb gliding softly along her jaw. "I missed you so much." he told her, Rachel shivered, heat seeping into her bones as the familiar tendrils of arousal snaked through her.

"Same." Rachel breathed, he looked at her with eyes so hot they scorched her skin.

"All, I can think about right now is how I want to put my hands all over you. I want to..." he was so close now that when he spoke, his lips lightly brushed hers with every word.

Her breath caught, and she felt herself go damp. "What?" she asked.

"Touch. Kiss. Lick. Nibble. And then—" Tom stopped as one of the twins farted loud and wet, the moment lost it's shine as they both tried not the laugh. Rachel held up a finger while trying to keep a straight face.

"Hold that thought about nibbling and everything else." Rachel told him.

"I'll check Evie." Tom said as he reluctantly released Rachel and lifted Evie out of her bassinet. "False alarm on Evie." he said after he did a quick diaper inspection.

"All clear as you say in the Navy." Rachel said with a satisfied sigh as she placed Olivia back down. She turned back to him and he pulled her into his arms.

"Where was I?" he asked.

"Touching and licking?" she offered, he gave a sly smile as he took her face in his hands and tilted her head back to look into those dark eyes that had haunted his dreams for the past few weeks.

"Better kiss me quick, Captain." Rachel teased, Tom huffed a laugh and bent to cover her lips with his. Rachel

made a tiny sound of relief and fisted her hands in his hair, going up on tiptoe to meet him. The kiss turned wild instantly, a hungry clash of teeth and tongue that made his already erect cock swell painfully hard against the zipper of his BDUs.

She pressed those voluptuous curves against him that he'd been fantasizing about ever since the doctor told them no sex. God, it felt amazing to mold her lush body into his.

He could never get enough of her and with a hungry sound Tom drove her backward until he had her pinned to the wall beside where the Bassinets sat. A low moan of need bubbled up from her throat when he grabbed her hips and lifted her up against him.

Her legs wound around his waist, bringing the length of his erection in direct contact with her core. The twins gurgled, happily away which reminded Tom, that this was not appropriate behaviour for them to witness.

He reluctantly pulled his lips from her luscious mouth. "Shower?" he asked, he rubbed against her, one hand holding her ass, the other fisting in the thick fall of brunette hair that fell around her shoulders. He was desperate to be inside her.

"Now." she agreed, breathlessly, nipping at his lower lip before she plunged her tongue deep into his mouth.

* * *

Kate felt him shudder as she lowered herself down on him again, taking him deep with her body just as he thrusted up; she knew he was close. She wasn't that far behind as Mike's hands stroking her breasts, her throat, her lips. His hands trembled with the effort it took to restrain himself. She caught his fingers in her mouth and sucked them. Damn, she loved this man and what he was doing to her.

The sweetness was too much to bear. She convulsed around him, drenching him in her passion as she came. He muffled a cry against her shoulder, biting her gently as he pumped himself into her.

A spell of dizziness assaulted Kate. A ringing filled her ears. She felt herself tipping backwards but Mike pulled her in close. He cradled her close as they both caught their breath. After a moment passed, Mike pulled back just enough to see her face. He gazed at her with real concern.

"You ok?" he asked her, she offered him a satisfied allbeit weak smile.

"I'm okay. All the blood rushed out of my head, that's all." She said still feeling a little light headed but really good as she was still straddling his lap.

"I don't like these fainting spells." he grumbled as everytime it happened it left him a little shaken even though the doctor said it was ok. Kate lifted a hand to his cheek.

"I'm fine, Mike and anyway you should be flattered that you had that effect on me." She said with a dazzling grin as she regained some equilibrium. He searched her face. Emotion, stark and unexpected transformed his features for a moment, making him look younger, more vulnerable. Every time it affected Kate as she didn't like him worrying.

"I know but I really couldn't stand it if something happened to you," he admitted in a rough voice.

"Nothing's going to happen, I'm genetically engineered to outlive you and deliver many babies." she reassured him, touched by his fears, understanding the cause for them. He closed his eyes and dropped his face in the curve of her neck.

"It's going to be okay," she murmured, stroking his short, crisp hair.

"I know," he murmured into her neck. He took a moment to let his fears pass and pressed a soft kiss into her neck before he gazed into her eyes again. "Now, do you think we can get back to why we're here?" he asked.

Kate couldn't help but smile as she looked to the wall to her left, they were in the living room of their house. Trying to pick colours to paint over the beige walls.

"All I can think of Pine Lime Splices and making love to you as soon as you're ready." Kate said with a satisfied but exhausted laugh as she looked at the colour swatches on the wall. It was varying shades of teal and cream. They had forgotten the previous colour names of what had been on the walls originally before Christina and now trying sussing it out. But hormones got the better of Kate and they ended up getting thoroughly distracted from the task at hand.

"I'd prefer we not paint the house ice cream colours because you're craving them. I also need at least 15 minutes and some water." Mike said in amused tone as he tightened his arms around her, the woman was insatiable as the past few days all she wanted was sex and ice cream. He was not complaining as the latter was very satisfying.

"Mm, water is probably a good idea." Kate murmured as she smoothed her hands down his arms. "still feels like there's some gas in the tank." she added, Mike groaned as Kate used her pelvic muscles to contract around him, holding his spent cock inside but also half awakening it.

"Focus on the colours, once we decide then I can start painting." He told her in amusement, as she had a one track mind.

"Ok, what about the number 5 and 10?" she said pointing the swatch that looked like the shade of medium teal and a buttery yellow cream.

"If I google Australian ice creams will any of them be those shades?" he asked her, she gave him a slow smile.

"No." She drawled in a tone that said 'yes' to Mike.

* * *

In the ensuite bathroom, Rachel started the shower and then reached for the hem of her shirt. But Tom stopped her and he took over,

slowly pulling it off, tossing it to the floor. Then he repeated the gesture with his own shirt.

Rachel found herself completely distracted as she allowed herself to get reacquainted with his physique, his tattoos which made her weak in the knees. She wanted to lick them, hell she wanted to a lot more to Tom as she had over two months of pent up sexual frustration of not being able to make love to him the way she wanted to.

"Rachel, look at you. You take my breath away." He murmured.

She couldn't stop staring at his chest, all hard and warm and delineated with strength. "I don't want to talk," she said, she also was ready to skip the foreplay as she just wanted to feel him inside her.

"What do you want?" Tom asked, there was note amusement in his tone.

"You. Now. Fast. Maybe hard, too." Rachel said meeting his gaze to see the hunger in his gaze.

"You got me. But not fast, not hard." He told her, he covered her mouth with his in a slow, hot kiss before he pulled back. He gazed at her with unbridled lust and kicked off his boots and shucked his clothes, revealing the rest of his mouthwatering body in its entirety, including the part of him she wanted inside her, yesterday.

He leaned past her and checked the temperature of the water while she checked out his perfect ass. As usual, he caught her at it and sent her a heated smile that dissolved her bones as he tugged her into the shower with him. In contrast to the hot water, his hands were still a little chilly from being outside, giving her a zing when he slid them up to cup her breasts.

Her eyes drifted shut and her other senses took over. His body was unyielding, strong, rippling with power against hers. He was hard, and huge. it turned her on, and she pressed closer, wrenching an appreciative male growl from him.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Tom asked, ever the gentlemen who cared for her. She opened her eyes smiled so in love with him for asking.

"Yes, and if you even think about stopping now, I'm going to physically hurt you." Rachel warned him, he gave gave a chuckle and then murmured her name before kissing her, slow and deep. She'd never felt more aroused, more wanted, and it made her tremble.

Tom pulled back and his hands threaded into her hair, holding her gaze. She had no idea what he was looking for, but something in her expression must have reassured him, because he brought his mouth back to hers, his tongue flicked out over her bottom lip. His hands slid down her body and cupped her bottom, lifting her to grind his hips to hers. He was hard and thick against her, straining between them. Pushing her back further into the shower, he kissed his way over her, starting with her throat and working his way down.

He had a nipple in his mouth, sucking it hard between his tongue and the roof of his mouth when she reached down and wrapped her hand around his hard, pulsing length. When she stroked him, he groaned and covered her hand with his, moving with her, until suddenly he stopped her.

"You don't like that?" she asked confused as he never stopped her before.

"I love that." His voice was hoarse, unsteady. "But it's been too long." he told her, water washed over their bodies as he nibbled at her neck, cupping a breast, rasping his thumb over her nipple, none of which deterred his free hand from slipping between her thighs. When he felt how ready she was, he dropped his forehead to hers and said her name in a jagged whisper.

"Now, Tom. Please, now."She begged as she clutched at him. His finger was tracing over her, stroking, teasing.

"I love how wet you are," he murmured against her ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth as he slid a finger inside her. She gave a strangled cry as she rocked to him.

"It means I'm ready." she assured him.

"Just making sure." he said as he brushed his lips against hers.

"I'm sure!" she assured him, she couldn't help but glare at him as he was slowing driving her crazy.

"I love you too." he said as he added another finger, gliding deep while brushing his thumb over her in just the right rhythm until she came with a rush. While she was still shuddering, he rolled on the condom and slid inside of her with a single, sure push of his hips.

She gasped, arching helplessly as it extended her orgasm. When she could open her eyes, she blinked him into focus. His eyes were solid black and locked on hers, intense and fierce. As he began to move within her, she felt the tile at her back, warm from both her own body heat and the hot water pulsing down over them. His strokes were strong and steady and sent her spiraling. He came with her, the both of them rocking together, gasping for breath. Unable to stand, they slid to the shower floor, still entwined.

Completely spent, Rachel dropped her head to his chest, managing a smile when he drew her in against him and pressed his face in her hair. It was good to have him home.


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62**

* * *

"It's hard to have a Gaytime on your own." Jesse and Anna half sang and said in unison. They group had sat down for lunch and the entire conversation revolved around paint swatches, suspect ice cream names and demonic furniture that was still stuck in Sasha and Jesse's front door. Hence, they were sitting out in the front yard around the dining table that should've been inside the house by now.

"Hey." Tom complained as he felt the two were being insensitive even if Jesse and Sasha didn't seem insulted at all.

"Chill, Captain Politically Correct, it's an ice cream and that's the Advert tune." Jesse told him as she and Anna laughed from the mental imagery of said advert that they had grown up exposed to. It seemed the two clicked on some level that Tom would never understand as the two insulted one another on a fairly regular basis.

"I doubt that." Tom said shaking his head as he adjusted Olivia in his arms. His baby girl gripping onto him tightly as she did not want to be put down. Evie was sitting in Rachel's lap contently snoozing away.

"Awwh, you don't want let the Gaytimes roll?" Kate asked Tom mockingly, she sounded like she was spouting another commercial slogan. Tom looked to Mike who just smiled at the humour, he of course was used it thanks to his brash mother and Kate.

His father and Tex were laughing while Green looked distinctly unsure of what the right move was. Rachel was engrossed in a conversation with Kara and Sasha to really pay attention. So he had no allies except maybe Olivia but she was more concerned with cuddles than the conversation.

"There's 4 delicious chances to have a Gaytime in one box." Anna added with a wink. The statements were rife with sexual innuendo.

"Mmm when you get one. You got to make sure you don't just bite right down. Really lick it first. Work the bits with your tongue until the creamy part." Kate said with a dreamy smile that made everyone aware that she was no longer thinking about ice cream.

"Really?" Tom asked her. "There are children." he reminded her, Kate's smile turned into a grin. She turned to Misato who was sitting next to her.

"Misato, do you want Ice Cream?" Kate asked the little girl.

"Yes." Misato replied with a shy smile, she had been keenly watching the conversation and people around her. She was a smart and incredibly adorable child but had't learnt to exploit her cuteness yet.

"Do you want sprinkles?" Kate asked, Misato's smile grew wider.

"Yes." she replied nodding her head vigorously at the suggestion.

"Will you say 'yes' to everything I ask as long as I say ice cream?" Kate asked her in a light and amused manner.

"Yes." Misato replied, those around chuckled at the adorable confession. Kate looked to Tom.

"I think she'll be ok." Kate assured him, "Now I want ice cream." she added with a sigh.

"Ice cream." Misato demanded adorably as she bounced in her chair excited at the notion.

"Let's go." Kate told her, she rose from her chair and held her hand out. Misato jumped down from her chair and took Kate's hand.

"Not too much." Jesse cautioned them as the two went to the house in the direction of the front door and not around the back as everyone else had been doing.

"Go round the back-" Mike started to remind Kate but gave up as he got up to follow them. He just made it time to Kate off her feet; impeding her attempt of trying to crawl under the lounge to get into the house.

"We're really going to have to get that couch inside the house." Sasha commented as she really didn't need it be a hazard for pregnant women.

"Chisel and mallet, we'll just pop out the stops of the door frame." Jesse said with a shrug.

"You didn't think of that say two hours ago?" Tex asked her incredulously as he and Danny had been killing themselves to try and push the thing through the door.

"Yeah, but I didn't want to take away the glory if you or Danny came up with it first." Jesse said with grin.

* * *

"Daddy, how long until the baby is here?" Zoe asked Mike later that afternoon, Kate was on the lounge sleeping which was a fairly normal sight of every afternoon. Maddy was back in after school classes learning Mandarin and advanced English which she made her happy. Mike was glad to see her happy as he'd listened to Zoe and Maddy's list of complaints about living with Christina. It hadn't been easy to sit through, but he tried to find a happy medium from the mess.

"Three maybe four months, why?" he asked her as they were training Scout in the backyard. The puppy lost interest in learning about half an hour into the lesson and laid on his belly; promptly falling asleep.

"Kate's sleeping a lot like more than Scout." Zoe told him, Mike smiled at the comparison, Scout opened his eyes at his name and looked at them. His tail thumping the grass happily before closing his eyes again and dozing off.

"It's good for her to rest." He said, Kate needed it, hell, he needed it with her veracious appetite for sex. He was enjoying it but he preferred quality over quantity. "Once the baby is here, she'll probably sleep when the baby sleeps too." he added, giving Zoe an basic idea that things would change.

"It's going to change a lot of stuff isn't it?" Zoe asked, she looked unsure as to if it was a good thing.

"Yeah, but it's not a bad thing. We'll have another person to love and share our lives with." he told her.

"Will I still be your baby girl?" she asked him. He grinned as he knew she wanted to know she wasn't being replaced or usurped by the baby.

"Always, both you and Maddy will always be my baby girls." he said pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

* * *

"So, I've been thinking." Tom said to Rachel, they laid in bed late at night; completely exhausted from their day and the twins who were currently going through some growing pains. Tonight they were taking turns waking one another up with their grumbling which led to Tom and Rachel not getting a lot of sleep.

"Should I be concerned?" Rachel asked mockingly, a sly smile on her lips.

"I think we should get married." Tom told her, he had been thinking about for a long time. It was just that things came up that got in the way and then the window of when he wanted to talk about it.

"If that's your idea of a proposal, you'll have to do better." Rachel said with a chuckle.

"I'm serious, I'd like to discuss it." Tom told her.

"Is this because Kate and Mike got remarried without telling anyone. You think we can slip it under the radar like them?" she asked as she rolled onto her side and looked down at him. She was beautiful, her long hair draped over her shoulder and dressed in one of his Navy t-shirt. If he was still on deployment, he'd beg for a photo of her as she was right now.

"No... maybe- I don't want a huge fanfare." He told her, but then he back pedalled. "Unless you want that." he said, Rachel smiled enjoying his discomfort as it was rare and adorable.

"No, not really, but I would like you in uniform if it's possible and everyone we care about to be there." Rachel said, she didn't see herself as a traditionalist but she did want something that was a little formal but casual enough for their family and friends to attend in comfort.

"That can be arranged. Civil ceremony or Church?" Tom asked.

"Civil." She said straight away.

"Indoor or outdoor?" he asked.

"Indoor, we should go back to that hotel where the Inaugural ball was. Same function room, stay in the same room," Rachel slowly ran her hands up his chest with a playful smile on her lips. "What do you think?" she asked him.

"I think that I need to work on my proposal." he replied, before pulling her under him and kissing her passionately.

* * *

"There's no ice cream. Who does that? Who comes to a friend's house and eats all their ice cream?" Jesse asked as she closed the freezer door in disappointment.

"Apparently a friend who is pregnant." Sasha said with a chuckle as she sat at the dining table looking over some paperwork.

"It was a whole pint! I only bought it yesterday. I had to fight for it too." Jesse grumbled as she pulled out cacao powder and put a couple teaspoons worth into a cup before adding sugar and mixing it up.

"I'll get you more tomorrow and a mini freezer to hide your stash from Kate." Sasha said she pushed back her chair and gave a tired sigh as today had been a long day.

"Are you mocking me?" Jesse asked as she sat in Sasha's lap. Sasha peered into the cup at the dry mix of sugar and cacao with a frown.

"I'm kind of disturbed by you. Mix some milk or cream into that." she told her, Jesse took a few seconds to answer as she was sucking on her dessert.

"Nah uh." Jesse replied before ate another spoonful of the dry concoction. Sasha pressed a kiss to Jesse's shoulder as she snaked her arms around her waist. "You want some?" Jesse asked.

"No, I want something else for dessert." She told her, Jesse sucked on her spoon and quirked an eyebrow at the clear invitation.

* * *

"Ow," Anna murmured breathlessly with a pout.

"I told you." Tex said breathless and grinning like a fool as Anna laid on top of him. They were both naked and covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"Really? you're killing my afterglow." Anna said, exhaustion getting the best of her as she couldn't be bother moving. The throbbing pain from her wounded shoulder drummed out to a hum. The drain out of adrenaline and the influx of oxytocin and endorphins gave her a heady rush. It wasn't her fault that she got so caught up in their love making that she ended up forgetting she was injured.

"Your shoulder is doing that to you not me." Tex said with a chuckle, he smoothed his hands down her back before resting his hands on her hips. "Better let me see if you've bled through the bandages on that shoulder." he told her.

"In a moment. I'm in a really good place at the moment." Anna told him dreamily.

* * *

Mike placed Scout on the floor and opened the backdoor. He snorted a laugh as the puppy scrambled like his ass was on fire out into the backyard to relieve himself.

Mike scratched his chest and gave a yawn as he was ready to go bed. Just as he turned to get himself a glass of water; and flinched as his mother appeared at his side like a spectre.

"Geezus Mom- you're going to give me a heart attack." Mike told her as his heart pounded from the shock. He loved her but he was looking forward to having his own space where his mother wasn't creeping up on him.

"I think your wife is closer to giving you a heart attack than me. Though you might give her a urinary tract infection first." she warned him in a casual manner.

"Mom, crossing a line." Mike said as he really didn't like talking about sex with his mother. It was bad enough Lena and Kate talked to one another about it with one another. He understood his mother was human and had a sexual life but he didn't need to know how active it was.

"We're both adults." Lena told him with a grin as she strolled into the kitchen and went to making herself a cup of tea.

"Yes, which means I get to decide what I want to talk about." he said as he sat at the breakfast bar. "We should never talk about sex." he told her, Lena chuckle at his discomfort. It was easy for her, while he had to live with her high-fiving his wife for making sure Mike was part of the third of men who would have a lower chance of developing prostate cancer.

"Fine, how's your house coming along?" Lena asked changing topics.

"Slowly, choosing paint colours is a chore but we'll get there." Mike said, they had majority of the colour scheme decided and he just had to buy the paint but the nursery and their bedroom were still in need of colour decisions.

"I'd love it if you stayed here." Lena told him.

"I know." Mike said with an amused smile. "But how are Kate and I going to send the kids to Grandma's for the weekend when we're living under the same roof?" he asked her.

"True, I do want 6 grandbabies." Lena said thoughtfully as if she were only just starting to realise the logistics of such a wish.

"6?" Mike choked out, his eyes going wide at the number.

"Of course, I've taken up knitting again." Lena said, Mike gave a wry smile as his mother wasn't a bad knitter but her pattern choices were questionable at best especially her Christmas jumpers.

"Kate would probably love a Christmas jumper." Mike told her.

"I'll keep that in mind, cheeky boy." Lena told him, Mike gave a yawn and she smiled. "You go get some sleep, I'll look after Scout." she assured him.

"No, it's fine." Mike said even though he was struggling to stay away while his mother was as fresh as a daisy.

"Go, old people only need a few hours sleep and you still have to give me two more grandbabies after this one." Lena told him.

"Kate know about this number?" Mike asked her, giving up on staying away.

"She asked me if adopting animals counted. I told her no." Lena said with a evil grin. Mike walked around the counter and pulled her into a hug.

"Love you Mom." he said.

"Love you too, now go get some sleep." she told him.


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**

* * *

"Hogan." Kate said as she rubbed a hand over her large belly. It was an obsession to rub her swollen stomach as there was a tiny person in there. A very annoying tiny person who was currently doing his or her regular womb workout which had been cute and amazing at 30 weeks but now at 39? Not so much as the Baby now didn't have as much room to move. His or her feet liked to push Kate's organs and bones in the most unfriendly way. She honestly felt like she was at full capacity, she couldn't wait for the baby to come.

"No." Mike told her, as he read the newspaper. He was used to Kate's lists, her baby brain, the weird nesting habits and her sexual appetite which had waned back to 'normal' due to the exhaustion of carrying another life. But all in all, he was taking it in his stride. In fact he was finding it all incredibly amusing and a turn on, as she was goddess all plush with his child.

"Logan" Kate suggested before she crunched into her toast. Maddy and Zoe ate their breakfast watching their parents try and figure out baby names while Lena added in her two cents.

"No" He replied as he folded the paper in half and continued to read. He was glad he wasn't working as he'd been able to dedicate a lot of much needed time with the girls and Kate. Not just for them, but also for himself. He had really enjoyed being with Kate for the pregnancy and now they were in the final week; it was all about staying calm and collected. They had everything finished; the nursery was prepped, they had hospital go-bags by the door and in the boot of the car.

The last visit had gone well, the baby was healthy, engaged in the pelvis, it was down to him or her deciding on when it was time to come out and meet the family. Mike knew Kate was impatient for the baby to come as she was in the uncomfortable stage of the last trimester.

"It's going to be a girl." Lena said with a confidence that hadn't flagged since Kate found out she was pregnant. At least the games ad tricks to decipher the gender of the baby had stopped once Kate allowed Lena to wave her wedding ring on a piece of strong over her palm. Apparently it swung in the direction of a 'girl' which made Lena, Maddy and Zoe happy.

"Lacey?" Maddy offered before taking a bite of her toast.

"No." Kate and Mike said together. Maddy gave a shrug not offended at all as she and Zoe peppered in random names just to watch Mike and Kate's reactions.

"Zoe, put Scout on the floor." Mike said in a tired tone as it wasn't the first time he told his daughter to do so as she had the puppy in her lap. It was currently lapping up the milk in Zoe's cereal bowl.

"But he likes to be part of the conversation." Zoe told him.

"He can do it from the floor." Mike said, he gave Zoe and no nonsense look and pointed to the floor. Zoe pouted but gave in, picking the pup up and putting him back on the floor.

"Caroline." Kate offered.

"Maybe." Mike said.

"Finally, another maybe!" Kate said happily, she wrote it down on her list as she didn't want to forget.

"Don't mock me." Mike quipped in good humour as he gave up reading the paper to look at his wife. Yeah, it was annoying but he was loving every minute of it as they were back in their home. It was painted and decorated back to their tastes. Only problem was Lena showing up all the time, but he wasn't going to complain as she would probably move in to spite him.

"This is our first baby together-" Kate started.

"2 more to go." Lena added in but Mike and Kate weren't going to be baited into that discussion. Maddy and Zoe looked mortified at the idea of more siblings but kept quiet.

"I want to be prepared with a list and use a name that doesn't run in our circles so we don't show favouritism to anyone on the Nathan James. Cameron?" Kate suggested.

"Burk's brother is called Cameron." Mike informed her, he sat back in his chair drinking in the family moment of sharing breakfast before the new member joined them.

"Kate." Kate suggested, not for the first time suggesting her own name. Mike chuckled ad shook his head.

"We're not naming her after you and it could be a boy. No, we're not naming the kid Mike or Michael after me. I don't need a namesake." Mike said before the argument was made again. He took a sip of his coffee, a smile playing on his lips.

"Fine." Kate said with a sigh. "How about Joshua?" she offered, Mike made a face that basically said 'No'. "Dylan?" she asked.

"No, I knew a Dylan and he was a brat." Mike said diplomatically as the man was a complete asshole but they had a 'no swear' jar which with Kate, Tex and Anna who seemed to curse more than a dock worker was looking more like a college fund for the Slattery children everyday. He was just glad the girls hadn't started swearing. Yet.

"Ainsley," Kate said.

"No, had a cousin and she was very, very popular and I don't want to think about that." Mike said stressing the word 'popular' to say she was promiscuous.

"Right, Avery?" Kate asked.

"Bird name?" He asked, his way of saying 'no'.

"You're very frustrating." Kate informed him, there was a warmth to her tone that said she didn't mind at all.

"We'll know the name when we see him or her for the first time." Mike assured her, she didn't look convinced.

"Can we have some options? we only have Alex, Caroline, Caleb and Peyton at the moment." Kate told him, listing out the small list of names they had so far.

"Isn't that enough?" Mike asked her with a wry smile.

"Devon?" Lena offered with a smile.

"Nope, it's Australia's version of Spam. I don't want to think of processed meat when I'm looking at the kid." Kate said with a distracted look that made Mike wonder if he was going to have to find Spam today.

"Violet." Lena offered.

"If she has my temperament then people will call her Violent Violet." Kate said begrudgingly.

"Good WWE name." Mike pointed out with a smile but Kate glowered at him.

* * *

"Argh, you are ruining my life!" Ashley told Tom over the breakfast table in a frustrated manner.

"Fairly overdramatic." Tom said as he bottle fed Evie her breakfast, he didn't really have to as Evie held the bottle all by herself, but he still liked to cuddle her while she ate. She seemed to like it too as she stared up at him like he were her whole world. If only Ashley still did that. Sammy was glued to his comic while Rachel was feeding Olivia. Jed watched on in amusement as he ate his breakfast of vegetable omelette.

"It's one date." Ashley argued.

"You're not old enough to date." Tom told her, Ashley had swanned to the table with a smile informing them that Dylan the 'cutest, like most popular' guy on the planet had asked her out on a date. Tom had squashed her mood by laying down the law 'No dating'.

"Dylan doesn't think so." Ashley informed him tartly. Tom snorted a laugh which was cut short as Rachel kicked him under the table and shot him a disapproving look.

"Dylan is a 16 yr hormonal boy who just wants to-" Tom started but Rachel cut him off.

"Ashley, your father would feel better if you didn't date until you are-" Rachel drawled waiting for a age number that Tom would feel comfortable for Ashley to start dating at.

"35" Tom said, Rachel shot him a look. "16," he amended begrudgingly as he had to be realistic. He couldn't lock Ashley in her room and apparently iron Chasity belts were not in fashion and unrealistic measure that would probably be seen as 'child abuse'.

"I wouldn't let your Dad date until he was 16," Jed added, he knew it wouldn't help as Ashley looked angry and upset at being restricted. They all knew how dreamy Dylan and had spent the last ten minutes being told they were assassinating Ashley's social life and status.

"But that's two years from now." Ashley informed him.

"If he likes you then he'll wait. If he doesn't then he's not worth your time." Tom told her in a matter of fact tone.

"I don't think you understand." Ashley told him, it was the tone that said it was dire, like her whole world was ending because she would be going on a date with Dylan.

"I was teenager,-" Tom started.

"Like a million years ago." Ashley finished for him, Tom smiled wryly but decided not to correct her. He wondered if he should be grateful for such teenage hysterics given it meant she was well adjusted after the events of the Pandemic to witnessing a woman being shot in front of them. But right now, it was annoying but he took it in his stride and assured himself that he had Evie and Olivia who weren't going to hit this stage for another 14 years, at least.

"And I do understand your plight. But I'm not letting you date until you're 16. It's not that I don't trust you. I think that you should have time to enjoy being a kid and socialising in groups of mixed genders." He told her.

"I'm not a kid." Ashley told him firmly.

"A young lady, then." Tom said as took the empty bottle from Evie's hands and placed it on the table.

"Rachel." Ashley implored looking for an ally.

"I agree with Tom, after you turn 16 you'll have years of dating ahead of you. So there's no point in rushing into anything." Rachel told her, Ashley made a gruff angry noise and left the table. A few seconds later a door slammed.

"She'll get over it. You did." Jed said to Tom as he and Rachel weren't sure if they had won that round of Teenager vs Parents round. It didn't feel like a win.

* * *

"I think you should elope." Kat told Anna in a low voice as their dining table was scattered with bridal magazines circa 2013. It was overwhelming and horrifying at how much had to been done to make a wedding happen. Tex was in full Groomzilla mode, as he wanted to make it happen as soon as possible. Not that Anna minded but he thought her first wedding should be some lavish affair.

"I know. Try convincing your Dad of that." Anna told her.

"We can't elope, we said we'd do a wedding." Tex said as he came to the table with a plate piled with fresh fruit for snacks. He sat down and looked at Anna and Kat like they were traitors to the cause.

"I think the masses would understand. Anyway, aren't weddings about getting all the money you spent on your friend's wedding gifts back?" Anna asked him, she realised she said the wrong thing as Kat and Tex looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"No," Tex said a little unsure before changing his tune. "It's about saying thank you to your friends ad family for being there in your life. Letting them witness your joy as you become a legally wedded couple." Tex told her.

"And get gifts, which is why I ask do we really need anymore crap or to spend months and money planning a wedding?" Anna asked him, she reached across the table and grasped his hand, "I'm not ashamed to marry you in front of people. I just think weddings are expensive and we can't realistically afford to feed over 200 people that will inevitably crash our wedding given how loveable you are. What I care about is making this marriage legal and enjoying all the perks of being Mrs Nolan like having more sex-"

"Ew. You two have enough of that." Kat told them. Anna smiled but ignored her comment.

"And adopting Kat, take her drinking and teaching her how to not avoid hangovers and maybe get her to speak a couple languages. How to identify a good guy from a douche bag and kicking him in the junk in a very step motherly way." Anna said.

"I'm down with that." Kat said, Tex chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm.

"So let's get married by judge. Get to having more fun." Anna implored Tex. He had to admit he was swayed by her argument. It wasn't a very strong one but he could see she clearly wanted to just marry him and as quickly as possible. Something he was all for.

"We'd need two witnesses." Tex told her, the conundrum of who to call.

"Kat and Kate. They love us, they have known us the longest. Kate hasn't popped out her kid yet. We could call and get it done today as I know you have the licence." Anna told him.

"She's 39 weeks pregnant." Tex pointed out, he couldn't see Kate being too comfortable with being out and about.

"I know, Kate assured me that the worst that will happen is she'll wet the floor and need to go to the hospital. Courthouse, is a block away from the hospital." Anna pointed out.

"Married, today?" Tex asked, he had thought maybe Anna had been downplaying the whole small wedding thing. But it was clear she just wanted to be married to him without the dog and pony show.

"It's worth asking." Anna said with a smile.

"Ok, I'll make the call." Tex told her, he rose from his chair and went to get the phone.

* * *

"Look at you go!" Danny said cheerfully as he crouched down and watched as his daughter crawled towards him. She had the most beautiful grin on her face as she squealed in delight at seeing him. When she was close, he lifted her up into his arms and planted a kiss on her chubby cheek. "Hey my little speed racer." he cooed as he peppered her face with more kissed.

Frankie chuckled and grappled onto his khaki summer uniform. Danny placed her on his hip and closed the front door, he looked to his wife who was sitting on the stairs watching him and Frankie with a soft smile on her lips.

"How did the meeting go?" she asked.

"Good, you're looking at a soon to be Lt Commander." he told her.

"Congratulations!" Kara cheered as she closed the space between them and gave him a kiss.

"It does come with some bad news." he said after her kiss.

"Oh?" Kara asked.

"My new post is in Norfolk." He said, he watched as Kara's features closed off for a moment but then she took a deep breath; mustering herself to the reality. The reality they had forgotten which was that military families moved from post to post. That meant she'd be moving away from her circle of moms in St Louis.

"It's ok, I still have my house up there and Alisha will be back there too. We all have phones and it's a short plane ride away." she told him as she was spinning the positives of the move and being supportive.

"I know, we could try long distant so you're still near the others." he offered, but Kara shook her head.

"No, we're going to Norfolk as a family together." Kara said with a smile.

"We'll keep the house here too, if I go on a long deployment you can come back here as I know we have friends here to support you." he told her as he wanted to know she wasn't going to be cut off.

"Let's worry about that later. Right now, we should celebrate!" Kara said, as she was incredibly proud of her husband and his achievements.

* * *

"Slow down!" Burk shouted as Ravit was a feet feet ahead of him running like the wind.

"Why? you obviously need the exercise." She quipped as she slowed to a job allowing him a chance to close the difference. He got to her, but he was drenched in sweat, breathless and looking ready to drop. Feeling just a smidgen bad for him, so she slowed to a stop.

"Thanks, when did you learn how to run so fast?" he asked her.

"You got slow." she told him.

"Why are you pissed at me?" he asked bluntly, ever since his return from Asia. She seemed to have a real bug up her ass whenever he was around her.

"I'm not pissed, I'm frustrated, I just don't know what you want from me. Do you want to be my friend? Or something more?" she asked him.

"More," Burk said without hesitation. It warmed her but only slightly.

"I heard you were flirting with anything that moved." Ravit said as she placed her hands on her hips. She was trying not to be pissed off about it given they didn't make any promises to one another. But it irked her as she didn't want to be a girl at his St Louis Port.

"I was being friendly with the locals. But I did not hook up with anyone." he clarified, he cringed as he could have worded that better but luckily she didn't pick up on the minor nuances only the major part.

"Hook up?" Ravit asked.

"Yeah, you know," he stepped close to her, "When a man finds a beautiful woman irresistible and so they find a private place to get intimate with one another." he told her with a sly smile.

"Ah," she replied mockingly, "So, what? we hook up and you move on to the next port and the next lady, Sailor?" she asked mockingly and she was definitely pissed off. Burk had been in this situation before so he could identify the emotions more clearly.

"No, I cook you dinner or take you out somewhere and show you a good evening of conversation and laughter. Then you let me know if you want more," his tone implying more would be something along the lines of toes curling in pleasure, "and I'll keep coming back until you show me the door for good." he told her in a low and seductive tone. Ravit had to admit it sounded like a pretty good deal to her.

"I guess we could try it out." Ravit answered in a non committal manner, trying to play it cool but Burk saw right through it and grinned.


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**

* * *

"Another wedding I missed." Rachel said as she and Kate sat in the living room of Rachel and Tom's place. They had a full view of Tom and Mike who were finally repairing the fence. Misato stood around them as she was an unofficial supervisor of the task. It was adorable as Jed had given her toy workman's hat and belt to look the part.

"It was a civil ceremony and Anna rushed the judge through it all getting the ceremony down to 5 minutes long. She was fairly fanging to get to the honeymoon stage. Lucky, Jed has that cabin." Kate said with a snort of laughter as she remembered how raunchy Anna and Tex's kiss was to seal their fate as a married couple.

Kat was now staying over at Lena's with Maddy, Zoe, and Scout. Mike and Kate decided it would be easier logistically speaking to have the girls stay with Lena as Kate's due date was very near. Mike wanted to make sure he and Kate could go to the hospital without having to disturb the whole family.

"I was looking forward to celebrating. I feel cheated." Rachel said with a pout.

"It's ok, there's your wedding." Kate offered as consolation prize to make Rachel feel better. Rachel smiled as she looked down at the simple engagement ring. It was a small solitaire diamond on a plain band. Simple and perfect. The proposal had been a small event of the family playing scrabble and Tom managing to somehow spell out the right words. She was pretty sure he cheated but let it go as they both were winning.

"Yes, I was hoping you will be my Matron of Honour." Rachel said, looking at Kate with a hopeful expression.

"I'd love to, when is the wedding going to be?" Kate asked.

"6 months from now, we haven't got an exact date as Tom is pulling strings to make sure as many of the Nathan James crew can be there. We want to share the day with everyone." Rachel said, she picked up the baby monitor and saw the twins were still sleeping and placed it back on the coffee table.

"Hey, when Mike and I got married the first time everyone was there." Kate pointed out.

"You had Jeter marry you at a Nathan James family picnic completely off the cuff." Rachel reminded her, which she felt was a real cheat given she loved weddings. Mike and Kate had a quick ceremony before Mike ordered everyone to have fun. There were no flowers, no walking down an aisle

"It worked out great." Kate said with a grin.

"How are you?" Rachel asked.

"Uncomfortable in general. Do you want me to sit on a garbage bag?" Kate asked as she sat up, and looked ready to gear herself to stand up.

"No." Rachel said with a smile, waving her to relax back.

"I could pop and ruin this sofa." Kate warned her.

"We'll just clean it." Rachel said with a shrug as she couldn't see amniotic fluid being any worse or better than baby vomit and drool. But then she was a doctor which made her inured towards bodily fluids.

"Ok." Kate said as she relaxed back into lounge with a sigh of relief. It made Rachel take a closer look at her friend, she couldn't help but worry for her as she knew first hand being pregnant wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Kate wasn't like other people; she tended to keep her symptoms to herself until it was usually too late.

"You're rubbing your stomach a lot." Rachel noted.

"I've been having braxton hicks on and off for the past few days but it's nothing to write home about." Kate replied dismissively.

"Did you drink water? It eases the pain." Rachel lied, but it was usually a good way of figuring out if it was a labour contraction or not.

"If I drank water for every ache and pain, I'd end up dropping this kid into the toilet. Anyway my back hurt more than the false contractions. It's been killing me for the past two days." Kate told her, offering some information freely.

"Back pain?" Rachel asked.

"Doctor told me at my last meeting that the baby would cause some pain as it's now in position leaning on my spin about to use it as a diving board to come out." Kate grumbled. Rachel smiled at the imagery even though it was incredibly inaccurate

"Does the pain in the back come and go?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, I'm ignoring it." Kate said dismissively as she smiled at the view of Mike working on the fence. He looked fit when he was working and his muscles-

"Kate!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What?!" Kate asked her, as she had been about to fantasize about Mike.

"You could be in labour right now." Rachel told her, Kate frowned and shook her head.

"My water hasn't broken." Kate told her.

"Remember how we talked about TV shows not being accurate?" Rachel asked her, she didn't bother to ask if Kate remember birthing classes as Kate had sworn the classes traumatized her more than calming her about the whole process. Rachel knew it because of how sterile hospitals were, that it reminded Kate of what happened to her in Baltimore.

"Vaguely." Kate remarked.

"Does it hurt now?" Rachel asked referring to her back.

"No, but I'm in a good spot." Kate paused and her face pinched with pain as she shifted and placed a hand to her back. "I take that back." she said.

"I'm timing this." Rachel informed her.

"Don't be weird. The pain is gone." Kate told her.

"You're lying and could very well be having this baby on my lounge." Rachel said as she looked at her watch and then to Kate.

* * *

"Hammer?" Mike said to Misato, the little girl picked up his hammer and held it up to her.

"Hammer, doozo." She said as she looked up at him.

"Arigato." Mike replied as he took the hammer from her, the little girl smiled and stepped back to watch them. Tom shot him a look. "What? I can speak other languages too." Mike told him in a matter of fact tone.

"Child slave labour was ruled out a long time ago." Tom told him.

"Misato is a budding carpenter." Mike informed him.

"So how's the waiting going?" Tom asked changing the topic, it hadn't been easy losing Mike from the Navy but it was good to see his friend going so well. Mike seemed a lot lighter and relaxed now he was no longer under the stress of command. Tom wanted to know what his next career move was but kept the question to himself. He did so because he knew if he were in Mike's shoes; he'd be relishing being home and having a baby on the way. It would be just enjoying time one didn't always have the luxury of in the Military.

"Fine, I think Kate's going to be overdue." Mike told him before he nailed the paling to the bracket. "You know an nail gun could made this go faster." he remarked.

"Yeah, good luck finding one." Tom told him.

"True." Mike said as lot of tools and equipment were under lock and key for the city crews to use in helping repair the city and homes.

"Have you got a name for the baby?" Tom asked.

"Nope, but not for Kate's lack of trying." Mike said before he gave a chuckle.

* * *

"Last box is unpacked." Kara announced with a sigh of relief as she was tired of living out of boxes and constantly losing her daughter in them. It had been cute the first few times since their move to Norfolk. But the one time Frankie napped in a box which led to Kara frantically searching for her- had made it clear that they had to unpack. That and Frankie would be relegated to her play pen until the house was ready for her.

"We should pop a bottle of Champagne." Alisha quipped as she flattened the box and placed it near the front door where the rest of the pile was.

"Hot Chocolate?" Kara offered as she walked to the kitchen. She poked her head in the play pen on the way and Frankie was passed out asleep. Kara continued to the kitchen, finally feeling at home as everything was in it's place.

"That'll work." Alisha replied as she followed her. "How is it being back?" Alisha asked as she helped Kara with getting out the milk and cups while Kara pulled the powdered drinking chocolate from a cupboard along with spoons.

"It's strange. Mom asked for her stuff to be shipped to Kansas." Kara said as she went to making the hot chocolates.

"Is she back in the bottle?" Alisha asked, Kara shook her head.

"Surprisingly no, we talked and worked out a few things but she said she needed time on her own and there are farming communities pulling together to grow food. She wants to help them out." Kara said with a shrug. "If she's in a good mental space, she'll call and maybe be back for Christmas." she added, the relationship between her and her mother was better and on the way of repair. It wasn't perfect but it was a relief to think maybe one day her mother would be a grandmother to her daughter. As Kara knew Debbie had a lot to offer them and vice versa, she just needed to find her way.

"That's good. You hear about Captain and Dr Scott?" Alisha asked.

"Getting married? yeah, I know. Rachel wanted to swing a Christmas Eve wedding with everyone from the ship there. But it was too short notice and Kate is due soon. Looks like it might be in Spring next year some time." Kara said, she missed hanging out the women but they all remained in contact over the phone and email. It helped Kara a lot to still have them in her corner.

"How is the XO?" Alisha asked as Kara poured out the hot chocolates for them.

"He's good, I don't speak with him directly, but Kate tells me that got him all taken care of. I'll spare you the details." Kara said, she gave a wry smile as Kate really had no filter when it came to her sex life or her pregnancy. It was hysterical but in a way, Kara was glad she didn't have to be around them as she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to look Mike in the eyes for everything she knew.

"She's got deviant written all over her. But it's good to know they are all well, they deserve happiness in their lives." Alisha said as she stirred extra sugar into her cup.

"What about you and Val?" Kara asked as she lifted her cup to her lips and took her first sip.

"We're ok." Alisha said noncommittally, she really didn't like giving too much away.

"Just ok?" Kara asked, definitely prying as she wanted the best for her friend.

"Yeah, she's in St Louis and I'm up here." Alisha shrugged. "We'll see what happens. How's everything for you and being a full time Navy wife?" Alisha asked.

"Don't get me started." Kara said as she rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Did that velour wearing, bottle blonde bitch get in your face again?" Alisha asked her, Kara huffed a laugh as Alisha was got angry for her while Kara just felt defeated. The Bottle blonde was the base commander's wife and the woman seemed to think the Pandemic and everything after never existed. So she got in all the wives and husbands craws about making life for their loved ones 'perfect'. Like Danny or any other serving military member cared about the flowers in the garden beds being all the same with blue, red and white colours.

"No- Yes." Kara admitted begrudgingly.

"Honestly, she's only being a bitch to you because you're smarter, tougher and prettier than her." "I'm surprised she could muster a smile at that ceremony last week given how much botox is in her face." Alisha said, shaking her head.

"You really don't like her." Kara remarked in an amused manner.

"I don't like anyone who messes with my girls." Alisha informed her.

* * *

Early next morning,

"Mike." Kate said nudging him awake. He had been having a really good dream when Kate woke him up, he just hoped this wasn't for another round of sex as he was completely spent.

"Yeah?" Mike asked still half asleep, he flicked on the bedside table and looked at the clock that said it was after 1am.

"I'm having a baby." Kate informed in him a matter of fact tone.

"Ok, let's get to the hospital." Mike said, he was about to get up when Kate pressed a hand to his shoulder to stop him.

"No, it's coming now." She told him, it was then his brain seemed to wake up as he took in her state. She was drenched in sweat, pale and her face pinched. There was a sense of urgency in her demeanour.

"Now? as in right now? Or we have time?" he asked her.

"Right now, I really want to push." She told him.

"How long have you been in labour?" he asked sitting up in bed, it was then he noted the warm and wet state of bed. How had he missed these signs.

"I don't know, a while. How am I supposed know? I called the doctor and she said to wait as the first baby take hours. Oh fuck it really hurts now and I feel like I have to push; push like the baby is here." Kate groaned the last part as she grasped her stomach and leaned over in pain.

"I'll get Rachel." Mike said, he pulled the bedding off him but Kate grabbed the collar of t-shirt and twisted it to point she was choking him. He leaned back towards her.

"No, no, don't leave me alone." she said completely panicked.

"Don't push." He told her, he realised the faux pas of his words instantly as Kate wore a dark look.

"Mike, I'm having what feels like the size of a large watermelon come out of my vagina at the speed of a fucking snail. I want the baby out of me. Now!" She told him in no uncertain tones. Mike normally would have laughed at the description but the look on Kate's face took the humour away. So he took a breath and gently pried her fingers out of his shirt.

"Ok, how about I see how far a long you are and we'll assess from there." He said, Kate's eyes went wide with horror. Her other hand gripped his T-shirt tightly to the point he swore he heard a seam tearing.

"Oh no, I want you to have sex with me after this baby is born. I can't have you traumatized by whatever is going on down there. I remember the video, it was horrifying." She told him, he gave a smile at her vanity and the genuine tears in her eyes as she believed her own fears. But he knew it was the stress of the situation. It was his job to stay calm.

"I won't be traumatized, I love you and there is nothing you could ever do or show me that could turn me off. Promise." he told her, she didn't look convinced and she looked terrified. "Promise." He reiterated, Kate took a few breaths before she loosened her grip and laid back. Mike moved to her legs and lifted her t-shirt's hem, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Geezus, you weren't kidding about the baby coming now." he told her, she made a whimpering noise not impressed with his reaction. "But it's ok, I'm going to call Rachel and an ambulance. Grab some towels and supplies. Just don't push out the baby until I get back." He told her.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kate asked incredulously.

"No, I'm not missing this birth and someone has to catch the baby. So hold the baby in." he told her, she glared at him with pure hatred. He didn't take it personally as it was temporary situation and he would feel the same way if their roles were reversed.

"FYI, my vagina doesn't work like that!" Kate informed him darkly.

* * *

"Your phone." Rachel mumbled as she woke to the sound of something vibrating on the bedside table. Tom pulled an arm from her waist and they both winced at the bright light of the phone screen.

"Chandler." Tom said tiredly as he pulled Rachel closer into his body.

"Put Rachel on the phone." Mike told him,

"Rachel," Tom said, Rachel took the phone still half asleep.

"She's about to squeeze the baby out as we speak. Can you come over?" Mike asked, Rachel's eyes snapped open.

"Oh my god, yes, I'll be right there. How dilated is she?" She asked as she sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

"Get Tom to make a circle with his thumb and forefinger touching. That much." Mike said, Rachel didn't need Tom to do so as she knew how deliciously large her partner's hands were. But in knowing so, it meant that Kate wasn't going to make it to the hospital.

"On my way." Rachel said, she hung up the phone and got out bed. "Kate's having her baby right now, next door." she informed Tom, she searched for her clothes and pulled on the first things she could find not caring how she looked.

"What do you need me to do?" Tom asked sounding more alert.

"Look after the twins." She said, she leaned over him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Love you." she told him.

"I love you too. Let me know if I won the baby pool." He told her.

* * *

A few minutes later,

"I'm here." Rachel said as she came into the bedroom, to find Kate laying on the bed with Mike where her legs were opened. Both looked stressed yet in some control, there were towels and Mike was dressed in sweats and T-shirt while Kate just had one of Mike's T-shirts. She was drenched in sweat and her face red and pinched in pain.

"The baby is almost here." Mike said to Rachel as he didn't look any better. The man was sweating bullets and while he was in control of himself, there was an edge of nervousness and concern.

"It should be happening this fast." Kate grumbled before she was gripped by contraction. She seemed to slip into an instinctual state as she pulled herself up, grabbing her thighs; the baby's head that was crowning, grew larger.

"Holy shit, I said don't push." Mike told Kate, as the ambulance wasn't going to get here in time and he was not equipped for this.

"I told you I'm pushing!" Kate informed him and she did as three more pushes and the baby's whole head emerged. Rachel pressed her lips together trying not to laugh at the small domestic going on.

"You're weren't kidding about having the baby right here and now." Rachel mused before she switched into doctor mode. "Mike, look for a cord around the baby's neck. It's purple and ropey. Use your index finger to see if you can feel anything around the baby's neck." Rachel told him.

"I think you should be doing this." Mike said as he did as she instructed. He was just glad he had washed his hands and taken off his watch and ring. But he was not trained in delivering babies. Their child was so small and fragile while his hands were huge and rough in comparison.

"You're doing just fine and this baby is not going to wait for me to scrub in." Rachel said, as she had complete confidence. "You feel for a cord?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, but it's not around the neck. But what the hell do I know?" Mike asked her.

"You're doing good," she assured him, she checked on Kate who was taking a breather, making sure her vitals were good before coming back to him and the Baby. "Mike, get your hands in there—she's going to bring the baby out. Be ready." Rachel told him.

"Hands in where?." Kate said at the end of her tether with this business.

"You're there, Mike. Now." She looked over Kate's raised knees. "Little push, Kate, that's all we need." Rachel said.

Kate gave a grunt and a shove and the baby came sliding out, straight into Mike's waiting hands. "It's a boy!" Rachel announced joyously, as she had been waiting months to say so.

"Hold him face down, your hand on his chest, and rub his back," Rachel instructed. Before Mike had even accomplished that, the baby was crying. "Very good," Rachel said with a smile, she spread a blanket on Kate's abdomen. "Good work. Put him down right here. Let's get him dried off and wrapped up nice and warm."

Mike's hands were shaking as he did so, wiping the muck of birth from his son's little body. Kate was straining up to see him, her fingers reaching toward him to touch him. For a moment Mike was paralyzed. Transfixed. Before he could close the blanket around him, he stared at him in sheer wonder. His son. Brought right out of his wife's body.

Naked, covered with muck, crying, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He wished he'd seen all his other children born but history couldn't be changed. Right now, everything was perfect as the baby in front of him. His tiny arms and legs were flailing, his mouth open in a wail. He was so tiny, Mike was thinking.

"Bloody hell, Kate, he's big. Where were you keeping him?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, in another dimension," Kate quipped, "That feels so much better." she sighed back onto the bed. Rachel washed up in the ensuite and came back into the room and moved to where Mike had been during the labour. She made sure Kate was ok and taking note for when the Ambulance came to take them to the hospital.

"No stitches necessary." She remarked before she applied the clamps from her medical kit to the cord, handed Mike the scissors and told him where to cut. Mike, did as he was told, freeing the baby from his moorings.

"Good work, let's Kate have the baby and let him have a feed. Then we'll get to tidying up the place." Rachel told him before she disappeared into the bathroom to give them a moment of privacy.

Mike lovingly lifted their baby boy. Mel was tugging at her T-shirt as Mike was handing her the baby. She held the baby's cheek against her warm breast, running her fingers over his perfect head. The baby stopped crying and appeared to be looking around. Kate glanced up at Mike and gave him a little smile, happy tears in her eyes as she gave a small laugh.

"Look at what we did." she said as she marveled at their son.

"You did all the hard yards." Mike told her. He felt a river of emotion run through him. He didn't know if he was about to burst into song or faint. He dropped to his knees to be closer and watched Kate tickle the baby's mouth and cheek with her nipple and then the baby turned his head instinctively and clamped on, took hold, suckled. Kate gave a chuckle, it was just so beautiful.

She looked at Mike, who knelt by the bed, dazed. She smiled weakly and said, "Thank you, I love you." she told him. He leaned in close and pressed a soft kiss to her brow.

"Love you too." he said with immense love for her and their newborn.


	65. Chapter 65

_A/N: The saga for this AU life has come to close as all our characters are in happy places. I will add a Christmas chapter and Wedding chapter in the next six months or so (life schedule permitting). So I hope you all have enjoyed the trip and thank you for all the reviews, favourites and following me! Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 65**

* * *

"He's perfect. Yes, you are." Lena cooed as she held her newest grandson in her arms. Rachel sat next to Kate on the lounge and smiled as they two watched Lena and girls look at the newest member to the Slattery family. "Red hair just like your Mommy and looks of your Daddy, you're going to be heart breaker for certain." she mused.

"He's so pink and ugly. Why isn't he as cute like the other babies?" Zoe remarked as she inspected her little brother's face. He didn't seem to like it as he gave a tiny albeit cranky howl. It was the cutest noise as his tiny features scrunched up.

"He's fresh, give him time to get cute." Kate said wryly as the adults all smiled at Zoe's brutal opinion.

"He's cranky." Maddy observed as she and Zoe were still getting used to the idea of a little brother given Lena had made a convincing argument that the baby would be a girl. But they both seemed to love him all the more based on the fact he'd brought gifts for them. So it was like an early Christmas or compensation depending how one wanted to look at it. Zoe had asked how Kate grew the gifts in her belly which lead to Mike clarifying the situation which had been hilarious.

"Awwh, let's give him back to Mom." Lena said softly to Zoe. She passed the baby back into Kate's arms.

"Thank you." Kate said, she loved how her son snuggled close and fell back to sleep. She smoothed out his sparse red hair, Tom had already joked that the baby was all Mike because of his lack of hair. But he did look like a mini Mike just in his tiny features. Mike was just glowing with love and pride over his newest child and Kate. He had yet to stop sharing how he was there to hold the baby first, glossing over the gory details as he shared it in polite company. But nonetheless, they were all happy.

"How are you?" Lena asked Kate, she gave a half shrug as she wasn't going to be completely honest in front of the girls. She didn't want them to worry or be scared.

"I'm ok, a little sore and tired but I managed to sleep through pretty much the entire hospital excursion." Kate said, something she had been happy about as she hated hospitals. But thanks to the exhaustion of bringing her and Mike's baby into the world; she had dozed in and out of the visit.

She left Mike to take notes and listen to the doctors. All she really remembered was looking down at her son and Mike. He was in rapture from the whole experience even if he played it down. She could tell he loved the fact he had been the first to literally hold his son. It was something incredibly rare and special.

"Clean bill of health for both of them." Mike said from the kitchen.

"Did you come up with a name?" Tom asked as he placed finger food on the table. He and Mike had been occupying the kitchen making tiny pancakes and cut up fruit for everyone to much on.

"Yeah." Mike said as he came in with the mini pancakes.

"Alexander Kenneth Slattery, we call him Alex for short." Kate said with a smile, as she announced it to the others. They all smiled and Kate felt the apprehension she had been feeling fade from her bones. She had been a tiny bit afraid there would be some naysayers. But it was all for naught.

"Great name." Rachel said with a warm smile.

"Kenneth?" Tom asked with a frown as it was a name he hadn't heard before.

"After Tex. Sorry, I lost the coin toss." Mike said slapping Tom on the back in a friendly and supportive manner while Rachel snorted a laugh.

"Like there aren't a few hundred Thomas' out there named after Tom since the cure was distributed." Rachel said mockingly.

"Thanks." Tom said dryly to Rachel.

"Thank you all for the help in getting the place cleaned up and well everything." Kate said as she knew Tom and Rachel had cleaned up the disaster zone of Mike and Kate's bedroom. Made it look like new again, it was good to come home and not be confronted by the challenge after their long morning.

"Just returning the favour as friends do. We've got to head off as Chandlers are having a big family dinner and we're hosting." Rachel said looking to Tom.

"True, it's good to see you three survived the experience. Congratulations and we'll drop by in a few days or come over next door." Tom offered.

"Will do, Uncle Tom." Zoe replied oblivious to the fact the offer wasn't entirely directed at her.

"What she said." Mike said with a grin.

* * *

Later that evening,

"That is hysterical." Sasha said as she held a sleeping Misato in her lap. Everyone at the table were laughing at a story Rachel had shared.

"I think it's closest we've come to having a real domestic." Rachel said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Ashley and Sammy had gone to bed and it was just the adults as they finished their coffee before calling it a night. She had regaled them all with Kate and Mike's delivery story or at least the parts she had been witness to.

Then shared with Sasha and Jesse, her story of when she had delivered the twins. How she and Tom had become rather aggressive until she broke two fingers and won the argument.

"Now, I know when a storm is coming as those fingers ache." Tom said with a fond smile as it was an amusing but memorable time.

"Well, Slattery boy is a cute baby but the twins are cuter." Jed said as he had gone for a quick visit before dinner to see the new baby and check in with the Slattery's. Rachel smiled at Jed compliment.

"I figure that we'll send a gift basket and visit in a few weeks once they've settled in." Sasha said looking to Jesse who nodded.

"Sounds good." Jesse said as she wiped her nose with a tissue. "I swear my new work place is a germ fest." she added before she got up to throw out the tissue.

"It's hayfever." Sasha told her, they'd been over it but Jesse was making it out that she had Man Flu and she was dying. It was a adorable.

"It's a cold. I took an antihistamine and it did nothing." Jesse informed her.

"Pollen count was high today." Tom remarked taking Sasha's side. He had no clue if that was true or not but it worth taking a dig at Jesse as she was good value.

"Why is no one ever on my side?" Jesse asked them all.

"You'll get used to it." Rachel assured her as she took a sip of her coffee; hiding a smile behind her cup as Tom gave her an incredulous look.

"What?" Tom asked Rachel, surprised by her comment.

"It's just that sometimes it's the Chandler way or no way." she said with a smile. She was completely baiting him and Tom was taking it; hook, line and sinker.

"I would disagree with that given what happened at Bed, Bath and Beyond last week." he reminded Rachel.

"Uh oh, they aren't married and they are bickering." Jesse said to Jed and Sasha who were grinning at the engaged couple.

"We're fine." Tom told Jesse.

"What happened at Bed, Bath and Beyond?" Sasha asked the couple with interest as she had been told surviving IKEA was the ultimate relationship test. But that Bed, Bath and Beyond was fairly dangerous territory.

"I wanted a plain bath curtain." Tom said.

"I wanted cacti curtain." Rachel countered.

"I think Cacti curtain is pretty awesome." Sasha said as she had seen it in the downstairs bathroom when she availed herself of the facilities.

"See," Rachel said in a vindicated manner.

"It doesn't make sense or match the rest of the house's decor." Tom argued.

"Dude, it's the bathroom. If it bothers you so much, close the door as it's not like it's hanging in lounge room." Jesse said pulling a face as she really didn't see what the issue was.

"Tom likes everything to be matchy matchy. It's a Navy thing." Jed said jokingly. The women all smiled

"No, it's a Tom thing." Tom corrected him. "I know, it's weird but I like things to be a certain way. But I am able to compromise." he added defensively as he realised he sounded as if he were anal retentive.

"You wouldn't let Ashley have a troll doll when she was younger." Sasha pointed out.

"Those things are creepy." Tom told her in a tone that brokered no argument.

"And on that note, we should go as Misato needs to get to her bed before she wakes us up at the crack of dawn." Jesse said.

"This was fun." Rachel said.

"Yeah, thank you for having us." Sasha replied as it had been good to have a family dinner with everyone around. She hadn't realised how much she missed these moments until she had them again.

"Anytime, next time we'll have it at your house." Tom told her.

"Sounds good." Sasha said.

* * *

"You know, I thought there was no way I could love you anymore than I already do, but I was wrong. You are just amazing." Kate murmured as she laid on her side and smiled at Mike. She was just filled with such immense love for him, there were no end to where it flowed from. He sitting up in bed, shirtless with Alex laying on his chest; bonding. He had a soft muslin cloth draped over his shoulder and the lower half of Alex. Alex squirmed for a moment and made precious little noises before settling into a more comfortable position.

The girls and Scout were staying with Lena for one more night before coming home. Kate had to admit she was glad to have this time alone with Mike and their son as she wasn't a full strength to face the girls as well. She appreciated the luxury of the time Lena was giving them as a couple but also for Kate to adapt to being a big family together.

"Same, being there watching you bring this little guy into this world. It was one of the most stunning, ineffably beautiful thing I'd ever seen." he told her in a low voice.

"I love you." she told him sincerely but there was an inviting lilt to her tone.

"Really? You gave birth less than 12 hours ago and you're angling for a piece of me?" Mike teased with a smile as she liked to tell him that she loved him before kissing him and having her way with him. She chuckled and pressed her face into her pillow looking exhausted beyond her years.

"Can't get enough," she said with a sigh before changing her tune. "Though for the sake of my lady parts and our son who needs sleep. I will forego ravishing you." Kate said, making it sound like a real hardship. She gave him an amused grin as Mike huffed a tired laugh.

"I'd say 6 weeks of rest at least." He told her, given that was what the doctor told them. He was sticking to it, they would need the time with Alex and adjusting to being a family of 5.

"Yeah, maybe some rehab and lots of chocolate." Kate added jokingly.

"No ice cream?" he asked as gently rested a hand on Alex's small back. He looked so tiny against Mike, yet it was just magical to see father and son bond. To see how strong and caring Mike was with him, and even with the girls but she seemed more keenly aware of it now than ever before.

"No, I'm good." she told him, all she wanted was to be surrounded by the people she loved. She felt so incredibly blessed.

"Get some sleep, I got the little guy taken care of." he assured her.

"Ok, wake me when he's hungry." Kate said sleepily.

"Love you." Mike told her.

"Love you too." she said before they shared a deep and loving kiss. Mike pulled back and Kate gave a blissful smile as she closed her eyes and drifted off the sleep.

* * *

Rachel fell onto the bed next to Tom and gave an exhausted sigh as the twins were finally back to sleep.

"I think Olivia is about to have a growth spurt and Evie is jealous. So of course she has to join in the raucous." Rachel said to him as he pulled her into his body and spooned her from behind.

"I can't dispute that." Tom murmured as he pressed a kiss to the base of her neck. He and Rachel had been dealing with the twins' midnight crankiness together but it seemed the twins wanted Rachel more than him. At least for tonight.

"You know Thanksgiving is coming up and then one more month and it'll be Christmas. We should have a Christmas Eve party for the family and our friends who are in town." Rachel said in an excited manner.

"That would be a lot of work." Tom told her.

"Pot luck on the food, everyone brings a dish and we'll provide the drinks. Put everything on plastic plates and cups. It would be so much fun to celebrate have a proper Christmas. Can you even remember the last time you had a normal Christmas?" Rachel asked as she turned his arms to face him. Tom tried to think of the last time he had celebrated Christmas in December.

All he had were vague mashed up memories of Christmas with Darien and the kids. The decorations and watching the kids open their presents. The joy of them getting what they wanted. But also Christmas on the Nathan James and how they piped Classic Christmas songs for half an hour and the mess served a special dinner.

"I don't know, too long." he said honestly.

"I think we should do it. It could be fun." Rachel said with smile.

"Ok, we can try it out but we should do a lunch given all the kids and babies." Tom said.

"Mm true, Alex is so adorable." Rachel said.

"He's ok." Tom said dismissively as he already told Rachel that his children were the cutest, and best children he knew and no other child could surpass them in his mind.

"I remember when the twins were that tiny." Rachel said with a soft smile.

"They still are tiny." Tom told her as he wondered what she was trying to say now.

"I know, but don't they and Alex make you want more babies?" She asked.

"I don't know, I wouldn't rule it out." Tom said diplomatically, he wasn't saying 'no' but he wasn't locking in a 'yes' as he felt they had their hands full. If he were honest he never saw himself having more than three kids. So the idea of 5 kids was a lot to take in.

"I'm just putting the idea out there. I doubt I can get pregnant again given my age but it's a nice thought." Rachel said as she pressed herself against him and slowly drew a finger up his collarbone in a distracting manner.

"I'd give you anything you want. But I would like us to maybe table the idea of more children until the twins are a little older. Give yourself more time to recover. Having twins is a lot of work." Tom told her.

"Ok, but we don't have to stop practicing right?"Rachel asked in a light and teasing tone.

"Practice makes perfect." Tom quipped before he kissed her.

* * *

"A boy, isn't that great for them." Anna said as she sent Kate a quick text congratulating her and Mike on their new bundle of joy and to get as much rest as she could. She placed the phone face down and enjoyed the view of her husband as he made them a late night dinner.

"Mike should be chuffed, hell, I'm chuffed. The kid has a great name." Tex told her, he in front of the stock cooking bacon pancakes in his jocks and boots. Thanks to the fire stove, the cabin was nice and toasty thus clothing was optional.

"His name is Alex. Don't get a big head." Anna said, even though it was too late for that. But it was one of the many things she loved about him. He really appreciated the small gestures of friends, never took anything for granted.

"Middle name, is my name though. I won a coin toss against the Great Captain Tom Chandler. Now, we have to win the rights of being godparents." Tex told her as he flipped the pancake in the pan.

"Why do I feel like you have an action plan?" Anna asked with a chuckle.

"Not yet but we should. We have a lot sage advice to impart with the little guy about life and having fun." Tex said with a grin.

"Kate and Mike aren't religious." Anna reminded him. Tex looked thoughtful for a moment as he stacked the pancake onto the pile he had on a plate by the stove. "We're already defacto Aunt and Uncle to the kids." she added.

"Good point," he turned off the stove and turned around with a pile of bacon pancakes on a plate. It was just perfect.

"Mrs Nolan, your midnight gluten free, dairy free no fun but fun pancakes." Tex said as placed the plate on the table. He smiled as Anna sat in one of the chairs at the table in her knickers, one of his flannel shirts and thick socks.

"Marrying you has in my top ten of the best decision I've ever made." Anna said as she poured maple syrup on the pile of pancakes and picked up a fork. A brilliant, yet tired smile on her lips. She was exhausted to her bones but incredibly happy.

"You had my pancakes before we got married." he said as he picked up his fork and carved out a bite for himself. He needed the fuel after the long drive and making love to his beautiful bride.

"Yes, but now you're legally bound to be my slave forever." Anna informed him, Tex laughed as she ate a bite of the pancakes. "Mmm, this is so good."she told him.

"Glad you're enjoying it. Though remember the part where you said you'd obey me?" Tex mused.

"Yeah, but there's fine print to everything. So how long do we get the honeymoon for?" she asked him, she moved into his lap and took another forkful of the pancakes. Tex wrapped an arm around her waist, held her close; enjoying the soft warmth of her.

"Couple more days as I got classes to teach. Being in the honeymoon phase lasts until we get on one another's nerves. Round when you get sick of putting down the toilet seat." Tex said with a shrug as Anna leaned back against him and continued to eat with him.

"Or your inability to hit the bowl? Those two drops that don't quite make it." Anna mocked, she really didn't care about those things as she'd been dealing with it all through her life with the military before moving in with him. She also figured, he put up with a lot of her lazy habits. So fair's fair.

"It's an art form, not a science. If you had a dick, you'd understand. The struggle is real." Tex said, Anna snorted and gave a hearty chuckle.

"Ok, so what now?" she asked him before she stuffed her mouth full of bacon pancake and maple syrup.

"We live happily ever after." he replied with a winning smile. She gave a droll look as she wasn't one for fairy tale endings but he wasn't put off by it,"Now eat your pancakes as you're going to need your strength for what I got in store for you." he added in a salacious manner.


	66. It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding

**It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding**

* * *

6 months later,

"The wedding must be in summer... he says and now we're all roasting in Dress Whites for it." Mike said quietly to Tom as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

"Don't you miss it? The uniform not the roasting." Tom remarked in amusement as Mike had been pulling in his Dress whites uncomfortably ever since changing into them. It wasn't like Mike was squeezed into either. In fact the man seemed to have room for more tailoring which proved retirement didn't make one soft.

"Miss the starch and the chaffing? No." Mike said with a grin as he hadn't wore a uniform since he left the ship. He missed working on the Nathan James and Navy, the people he no longer saw everyday but he wouldn't give back the time he had with his family. Now he and Tom were standing on the Flight deck of the Nathan James in the early Summer sweating slightly in the summer sun as the ship was moored out in the bay so they had the coastline behind them and the sunset.

Someone in the crowd pulled out a guitar and some tapped their feet and clicking their fingers. Alisha started singing and then Burk joined as they sang a cover of 'Be My Forever' by Christina Perri and Ed Sheeran and soon others joined in as their back up vocals. Tom looked to Mike wondering if it was his doing as it wasn't the music they had discussed about playing. But Mike looked as clueless as him as he gave shrug as if to say 'go with it' and pointed to the aisle.

Misato had danced and thrown the last of the rose petals in the air and Jesse was there at the end of the aisle to take her to the side where they had seats with Sasha. Kate came down in the in a navy coloured chiffon sweetheart neckline bustier dress that ruched at the waist before the skirt cascaded loose to the floor. Her hair was in a messy chignon with wisps of hair framing her face.

She smiled but her eyes were only on her husband Mike, once she moved to the side; Tom saw Rachel come down the aisle with his father.

She walked down the makeshift aisle with a brilliant smile, she wore an elegant cream floor length, chiffon off-the-shoulder gown with crystal embellishments that was ruched at the waist. It accentuated all her curves in the right places before the skirt fell nicely to the floor. Her hair was half up and half down in soft curls. She had fern vine hair jewellery that sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. She looked breathtakingly beautiful and she was his.

He felt so overwhelmed with happiness at every step closer she got to him, he had to admit the song was incredibly uplifting and cheerful. Everyone looked so happy as they counted up to four and sang the last few lines of the song just as Rachel reached the altar and the song was finished with a few last strums of the guitar.

"Welcome everyone, I'll do my best to keep this quick before I lose our youngest members to boredom." he said with a smile. "We're truly blessed today as we are gathered here in this special place to join these two in marriage. Something I think many of us can agree does not begin today. Their marriage has been humbly, painstakingly, and passionately built day by day over the last two years. Today like so many days before, and so many days to come, they stand here ready to face the world together. Now, who is gives this woman to marry this man?"

"I do, to welcome her officially into my family." Jed said as he held up his hand and stepped back into the crowd of family and friends.

"Thank you." Rachel said as Jeter turned his attention to her.

"Now, do you Rachel Anne Scott take Thomas William Chandler to be yours?" Jeter asked her.

"I do." Rachel said smiling at Tom as she held his hands in hers. Her heart bloomed in the most incredible way as she loved the man in front of her.

"Do you, Thomas William Chandler take Rachel Anne Scott to be yours?" Jeter asked.

"Yes." Evie said loudly in a bored manner like she had answered the question a million time before. Laughter rippled through the crowd.

"I do." Tom said as he and Rachel laughed and shook their heads at their child's outburst.

"Do you both promise your hearts to each other? Will you walk hand in hand wherever life's journey takes you? Will you keep living, learning, loving and growing together for the rest of your lives?" he asked, they had practised the ceremony to wait until the questions had been asked.

"I do." Rachel and Tom both said as they smiled at one another.

"Rings?" Jeter asked, Jed came forward with the rings. Rachel picked up one of the rings and looked at Tom.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and vows, I promise to cherish always and forever." Rachel said, Tom picked up the other ring and repeated the same words to Rachel as he slid the ring onto her finger.

"By the power vested in me, I pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may kiss the Bride." Jeter said, Rachel and Tom smiled at one another as they closed the space between one another. Tom cupped her face with one hand as his other arm wrapped around her waist pulling her close. He covered her mouth with his, sealing their vows with a long, slow kiss that was a little too scandalise for a wedding but the couple didn't care as they were lost in their moment. All around them, their friends and family cheered, wolf-whistled and carried on.

* * *

Half an hour later,

"Shut up Burk. Otherwise we'll be here all night waiting for cake." Kate told Burk, as he was the last person in the hotel ballroom to quiet down. Laughter rippled through the room as Kate was a force to be reckoned for. There was something hilarious about Kate swinging a glass of Champagne in one hand and mike in the other with casual air. Her husband sat at the bridal table holding their six month old son Alex. She could see so much of Mike's features in Alex's tiny face but his personality and red hair was all Kate genetics.

"Now, before I begin my speech, I would just like to say Rachel; you look absolutely beautiful and Tom, you got some room for improvement." she said making a 'meh' face which made the room lapse into laughter including Tom. "It has been quite a day. An unforgettable, whirlwind of a day that celebrates the fact that two people fell in love. When I first sat down and thought about what I was going to say here tonight. All I could I think was 'It was about freaking time these two got married and I only have an hour to wait for it to be done." Kate said with an exaggerated sigh of relief, a few people clapped and some cheered as many felt the same sentiment.

"I know Tom; that you wanted a sober and very polite speech from me. But I'm sorry, it's my first wedding since I had a baby and there's bubbly. Also Rachel chose me as Matron of Honour. Come and top me up, Miller. You're a good man." she said as her glass was refilled by Miller. He gave a apologetic look to the bride and groom before he went back to his table. Kate took a sip and continued her speech.

"Now, I remember the first time Rachel told me about Tom. We were in our cabin, it was 4 months into our trip in the Arctic. She rushed into our quarters one day in a huff that this man silenced her with holding up his finger informing her that she should be quiet as he hadn't finished talking in very a patronising manner. She demanded to know where he got off talking like that to her. I of course had to remind her, he's the Captain, she did not like that." Kate said, Rachel smiled and gave a shrug as everyone chuckled.

"Normally, when we get to this point in retelling a love story; you'd think sh'd tell me he was handsome, funny and kind but oh no, he was the most disagreeable, patronising, charmless -well, I can't say the rest as I refuse to be responsible for expanding Burk's vocabulary." Kate quipped, Burk flashed her the middle finger that made everyone who were laughing begin again.

"Either way, it was definitely not the classical fairy tale beginning for these two. Boy, was it a nightmare for months to be around them whenever they shared a room. It was like watching wolves circle one another waiting for an opening to fight for dominance. But that luckily for all us, it didn't last longer than a few months and a girls' only stay-cation in Baltimore was all it took for these two to reunite and become copacetic. What started as a friendship grew into love." Kate said with a smile as she made light of the most horrific moments of their past. They couldn't ignore it but she also didn't dwell.

"I'm so happy to be here with you," she looked to Tom and Rachel, "I feel privileged to know you both, I also feel lucky enough to have witnessed the love you have for one another. Your love for one another has made you even better people than you were before. I'm serious Tom, you were such a grumpy a-hole before you got your A-game on." Kate joked many laughed including Tom even though he was taking more hits than Rachel. "So, let's raise our glasses in a toast to Mr and Mrs Chandler. May you not eff it up and live happily ever after!" she told the room.

"Cheers!" The room called out along with "Here, here." in merry voices to the couple. They all took a sip and Kate placed her glass on the table as she walked to her chair and sat down. Mike passed Alex into her lap as he went to the podium. He waited for the room to calm down and looked at Kate who pressed a kiss to Alex's forehead as she cuddled him close. He turned his attention to the room and spoke.

"A best man's speech should be about a long as it takes the Groom to make love to his bride." Mike paused for all of three seconds and checked his watch "Ok, let's raise our glasses again in toast to the newlyweds." he deadpanned, laughter rippled through the crowd. The crowd obliged in raising their glasses while Tom looked mollified by Mike's estimation of his sexual prowess."To their health and the many happy years that they will share together." he said with a grin.

"Cheers!" and "Here, here." was called out by the crowd and once again they took a sip.

"Thank you Mike and Kate for your help today and friendship. Though I am questioning our friendship Mike, after that speech." Tom said wryly as he shook his head at the man.

"You're welcome." Mike said from his chair as he wore a smug grin.

"First off, Rachel and I would like to thank everyone for being here. Also thank you to the US Navy and Nathan James for hosting our ceremony and reception. Thank you to everyone who helped with the plans and preparation. Those who made sure our kids didn't end up in the drink while Rachel and I shared our vows." Tom said as he tried to keep his thoughts clear but he had Olivia at his feet and the baby girl was trying to get his attention.

"Daddy! Up!" Olivia called up at him loudly and impatiently as she tugged on his pant leg.

"Ok, ok." he said to Olivia as he lifted her up into his arm. He was a little chagrined as the crowd 'awwhed' and laughed a little at the moment. She gave him a happy smile as she rested on his shoulder. "Where was I?" he asked as he lost his track of thought.

"What Tom was going to say is that it has been a wild 6 months of planning. In our time of deciding how we wanted today. There was one very important thing we both wanted to happen. It was for everyone in this room to be here. You've all been here from the start, when according to Kate we were like wolves circling on another. We survived horrific times together and are stronger for them and we've been lucky to celebrate better time like finding love, a cure, making our family grow with new additions." She playfully tugged on Olivia's dress, making it sit in place before she continued. "Thus during that time, we've come to think of you all as family. So it means a lot to be here with you all and share this special day right here where it all began." Rachel told them.

"Well, it started in the Helo bay, but it was too crowded with a Helo to fit us all in for the ceremony. Then we have a gaggle of kids who basically get into everything." Tom said with a grin, many laughed and smiled as they were all aware of the Nathan James babies who were troublemakers in their own right.

"Please enjoy the rest of the party, and again, thank you all so much for being here today. It means more to us than we could ever express. " Rachel said to the crowd.

* * *

An hour later,

The dance floor was in full swing as the crew danced, took advantage of the open bar and basically catching up as many had come from near and far for the wedding.

"Where's Kate and Mike?" Jesse asked, she knew exactly where the couple was but liked to shine a floodlight on it for everyone else to notice. She, Sasha, Anna and Tex were sitting at one of the empty tables enjoying the last of the dessert table.

"Probably the bathroom given Alex is with Wolf." Anna said with snort of laughter as Kate and Mike seemed to take the whole honeymoon phase and free babysitting very seriously. "Give them 5 minutes." she added before she ate some fruit salad.

"Ten, those dress whites are a pain to look like they aren't mucked up." Wolf grinned as he held Alex in his arms. He gave a loud yawn before he smile at them.

"Awwh, look at you all paternal. The chicks must love it." Sasha quipped as she tickled Alex's belly earning a cute giggle before Alex grabbed her fingers and held onto them with a strong grip. It was clear he did not want to be tickled but didn't mind the attention.

"Yeah, except they love Alex more than me." Wolf said with a playful pout. "Hey Misato, how you going?" he asked her.

"Mummy has a tiny penis in her." Misato told him, Wolf blinked and frowned as he had to remember what question he had asked. He then looked to Jesse and Sasha who share the expression of 'yes, our child said that'.

"Lena looked after Misato where she learned that babies have girl or boy parts." Sasha explained, she smiled as Alex was grunting and trying to squeeze himself out of Wolf's hold. But Wolf held onto him and sat the 6 month old in his lap. Alex pouted as he pointed at Tex and then made grabbing gestured at Tex to emphasise to Wolf where he wanted to go.

"So logically if the baby is inside you then so are their 'parts'." Tex said with an amused grin as Anna smacked his arm for being crass. He rose from his chair and lifted Alex out of Wolf's arms. The baby smiled as he stuck his tiny fingers right into Tex's beard with a fascinated expression on his face.

"Yeah, it's great. We should've never taught her English." Jesse quipped to Sasha.

"So you're having a boy." Anna asked with a smile, she was secretly glad that she and Tex didn't have to worry about toilet training. Inappropriate conversation topics was one of their super powers as a couple.

"Nope, it's still a surprise." Sasha replied as she rubbed her slightly swollen belly. They hadn't planned to have kids so soon but IVF under the Government's new scheme to boost the population was free to all women who could show they had a stable income and a home. Jesse and she ticked all the boxes and were approved, after that it was just one artificial insemination session- boom, Sasha was currently 5 months pregnant. The couple couldn't be more happy with the idea of being a family of four even if it was scary as hell.

"What about you two? going to do your part for the population?" Jesse asked them.

"We're good." Tex said with a grin as he rested a hand on Anna's knee under the table.

"Between all the babysitting and work it's like having kids." Anna joked at which Tex gave a nod in agreement before he pried one of Alex's hand out his beard and blew a raspberry onto the palm. Alex giggled and squirmed in delight as he stuck his hands back into Tex's beard yet again. Tex laughed and grimaced as he tried to stop Alex from pulling his beard hair out.

"How's Kat?" Sasha asked as they had seen the young woman at the ceremony but she had disappeared into the crowd of Nathan James celebrating wildly with people closer to her age.

"She's going good. She's joined the Marines." Tex said proudly.

* * *

"Kate, you have toilet paper stuck to your shoe." Kara said helpfully as Kate ungracefully just come out of the ladies with a string of toilet paper stuck to her heel. It wasn't the only thing out of sorts about her as Kate's hair was mussed up and her dress slightly wrinkled, then there was the whisker burns on neck and chest area along with the dopey grin on her face.

"Ah, thank you." Kate said, she had been about to pick it off her shoe when Mike casually came out of the ladies behind her.

"Commander Green." Mike said acknowledging Kara's presence. He used a calm tone like it wasn't unusual for him to step out of the ladies while Kate blushed a deep red. He also didn't stick around for a chat as he was smart enough to walk away than wait for the interrogation. Kara wore an amused smile as it did not take a genius to know what was going on.

"Yeah, I got nothing to explain that." Kate said as she went back into the bathroom with Kara to take the toilet paper off her shoe and wash her hands.

"Just don't tell me exactly where it happened in here and we'll be fine." Kara said with a chuckle.

"That I can do." Kate said with a smile, Kara made a face as it really didn't help the ick factor as Kara saw Mike as a father figure.

"You two are like crazy teenagers now that the Captain has retired." Kara said as she went into one of the stalls hoping it was the scene of Kate and Mike's tryst.

"When you have three kids, you'll understand the importance of time management and getting it when and where you can." Kate said with a chuckle.

* * *

Rachel leaned her head on Tom's shoulder as they slow danced to the music. They had said goodnight to the twins, Ashley, Misato and Sammy as Jed had taken them home. Lena had taken the Slattery kids and Frankie back to Kate and Mike's place.

"I think we could slip out in half an hour and not come back." Tom whispered to Rachel, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Mmm, no we leave the room with everyone cheering with that bridge thing people do." Rachel said as she wanted to experience their wedding to it's fullest. "I didn't waste six weeks learning to dance only to have three dances." she told him.

"We'll dance together every other night for the rest of our lives." Tom told her, he expected Rachel to sigh but instead she snorted a laugh at him and rolled her eyes.

"Nice try, keep dancing." she ordered him as she rested her head on his shoulder and smiled.

* * *

"Oh, that's so adorable." Kate said as she was looking at photos and mini movies of Frankie on Kara's phone while Kara looked at photos of Alex on Mike's phone.

"Alex as a reindeer? You're killing me with cute here. You sure you two are going stop with him?" Kara asked as she showed Kate the photo of her son. They spoke to one another on the phone every couple weeks and sent random emails. So there were a lot of photos to catch up on.

"You haven't had to live with Alex. He's a lot of work. Add in Zoe and Maddy, we barely have enough time for ourselves." Kate told Kara with a happy sigh as she was not complaining but stating a happy fact.

"Rowdy?" Kara asked, she knew it was underestimate as Alex was a little ball of energy.

"Oh yeah but he's finally sleeping through the night." Kate said with a smile that Kara shared. She knew exactly how good it felt to have a baby sleep through the night. "Frankie is a treasure, I can't believe she is already walking! But I'm so happy you and Danny could make it and that I got a good cuddle with the kid." Kate added.

"Me too, I've missed our close knit community." Kara said, she had been able to acclimate to Norfolk and the wives clubs but she still felt a little on the outside. It reminded her of the old saying that there was no place like home. But home was wherever one's family and closest friends were.

"You can always move back." Kate told her in a matter of fact manner.

"Sadly, my husband wouldn't like the commute." Kara told her with a grin.

"Shame." Kate conceded, she looked out to the dance floor where Rachel and Tom were. "Though it's good to see everyone happy and settling into their lives." she said.

"It is." Kara agreed with a soft smile. "But I do worry about what your husband is talking to mine about." she said, Kate turned to see Danny and Mike talking.

"Probably trying to convince him to join him on the dark side." Kate said in a dark and foreboding manner.

"How is the business?" Kara asked, she had to admit she hoped Danny was enticed by it as he had been shot three times on the last deployment. His vest caught two of the bullets but the third had broken his leg. It hadn't been fun as the doctors had started hinting that it was time for Danny to step down as he didn't have much longer as an operator due to his joints. Even now a month later, he was still looking wrecked but he persevered on crutches.

"Pretty good, still early days but it's got legs and growing fast." Kate said, the US government had returned a small portion of her holdings and money.

So, she had convinced Mike and partnered with Tex and Anna to start a boot camp and indoor gun range. They had bought a huge plot of land and transformed it into an outdoor training course with facilities. Paid for insurance and marketed towards people looking to join the military to get them up to snuff physically and give them a taste of what was to come. They also trained police forces and private security. So they weren't lacking for business but they did need more employees to keep up.

They also opened the team building day events for corporate world. It was surprisingly popular. The military branches sent started to regularly send them people who had potential but had failed first rounds. Tex, Mike and Ravit looked after the physical aspect of the business while Anna and Kate ran the office and took care of the paperwork.

"Maybe he'll be tempted." Kara said, she couldn't hide the hint of hope as much as she loved the Navy; she loved her husband and his safety more.

"We need more people. Having another special forces operator on the team wouldn't hurt and maybe someone who can knock the head off a chicken from a thousand yards." Kate said with smile.

"Are you trying to sell me a job?" Kara asked her incredulously.

"You already have a house here. The benefits and pay are better than Navy. You'd all be near us! What's not to like?" Kate asked her.

"I'm saying nothing until I see an official offer in writing. As everybody knows, talk is cheap." Kara informed her with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes, knowing it would shut Kate up. But instead the woman grinned.

"Oh, you mean like this?" Kate asked as she pulled a thick envelope out of clutch and handed it to Kara. "It's got everything you want or could need to know. All you have to do is put in your official start dates and sign the dotted line." she told her as she got one up on Kara.

"This is too much." Kara told her, as the offer was pretty amazing.

"Think about it. Navy has been good to you both, we get your loyalties lie with them first. But this just something to think about in case you decide you want something different." Kate told her.

"We'll look it over, but no promises." Kara told her as she took the envelope and stashed it in her purse.

* * *

A couple hours later,

Rachel and Tom stepped off the elevator. She smiled as her feet were killing her but it had been a great night. Their friends had seen them off into the lobby with style and fun, drunk singing the song Rachel had walked down the aisle to until Tom and Rachel disappeared into the elevator.

"Same floor." Rachel remarked as she took off her heels and sighed in relief. They were kitten heels but still they killed her feet. So it was good to have them off.

"Same room." Tom informed her, she smiled as they stepped off the elevator and walked to their room; hand in hand. They stopped at the door, he slid the key card in. "Prepare yourself, I heard Anna and Kate have been in here." he told Rachel, she gave a chuckle as he mockingly looked scared as he pushed the door open.

The room was a path of rose petals with mason jars of fairy lights around the room giving it a beautiful glow. There was a trolley to the side of the room laden with bottle water, chocolate fruit, pastries and preserves. Next to it, a bottle of apple cider and non alcoholic Ginger beer in an ice bucket. The bed had a heart shape of rose petals with an envelope in the middle.

"Looks like they ran out of money for the champagne." Tom said in amusement as Rachel picked up the envelope and read the contents.

"More like they want to keep us hydrated." she said, before she laughed at what was written in the Wedding card.

"What?" he asked as he moved to her side. He chuckled as Kate and Anna had written in the card taking up all the space even having to write around the sides to maximise their space. It filled with explicit advice for the perfect wedding night with optional sex locations and positions with pictures. "God, they are 5 years old." he said laughing.

"I don't think that one is physically possible for me." Rachel said laughing at the lewd stick figure. Tom took the card from her and placed it to the side of the room and came back to Rachel who picked the wrapped gift off the bed and held it out to him.

"Should I be worried?" he asked her in a careful manner.

"My wedding present to you." she told him with a smile. Tom took the present and pulled off the wrapping discarding it to the floor. He opened the box to find a pregnancy test that read positive nestled in tissue paper. He looked to Rachel with a surprised smile on his lips.

"Is this- are we?" Tom asked a little afraid of saying it incorrectly and offending Rachel. She smiled at his bafflement.

"Well, technically I am pregnant but we are going to have another baby to add to our brood." Rachel said, Tom smiled as he was overwhelmed with joy by the news that all he could do was kiss her. So he did. He kissed her, until she was dizzy. He pulled her against him as he slowly, sensuously, Tom languidly explored her lips with his, as she opened her mouth to him, deepening the kiss.

The softness of her stomach pressed intimately against the hardness of his unmistakable desire. Her breasts were tight against his powerful chest. It was heaven and yet not enough as she wanted more.

She swept her tongue fiercely into his mouth. And then his hands were in her hair, on her throat, on her breasts. He was touching her everywhere, as if he wanted to feel all of her at once and didn't know where to start. But then he decided as his hands slid down her back to her backside, pressing her hips tightly against him, holding her in place as he slanted his head and kissed her even harder.

She opened her legs, taking advantage of the amount of fabric in the skirt, and she rubbed the inside of her thigh against his. His hand caught her leg, and he pressed her still closer to him.

Tom's mouth slid down to her neck as his hand cupped her breast. The roughness of his callused fingers rasped against the silk as he stroked the hard bud of her nipple through the fabric.

"Damn," Tom breathed between kisses, as he tried to slip his hands into her dress but found himself thwarted. "I love you but your dress has to go." he said, Rachel chuckled and moaned as he kissed her again.

* * *

Kate smiled as she watched Mike lay their six month old son into his crib. The baby boy didn't stir as he was fast asleep exhausted from the party and the long day. Lena had figured she, the girls and Alex could have a sleepover in the living room. They didn't want to break up the party but knew that Alex would wake up before the rest of them and more than likely get into trouble. So it was just safer to put him in his crib.

Mike stepped away from crib and joined her at the door. "Doesn't get any better than this." Mike told her with a sigh of contentment.

"No, it doesn't." she said in agreement, "but, I could for a round three in the bedroom." she said cheekily as they moved away from Alex's room to theirs.

"My mother is downstairs." Mike told her as he closed the door to their room before turning to his beautiful wife.

"I'll be very quiet." she promised as she helped him out of his jacket and shirt. Mike chuckled as he kicked off his shoes and pulled the zipper of Kate's dress down. Mike gripped the back of her head with one hand and her hip with the other, jerking her tight against him as they devoured each other in a hot and savage kissed.

She moaned into his mouth at the feel of his tongue gliding against hers, at the press of that hard, hot body. In between deep, searching kisses they peeled off each other 's clothes, dropping them on the floor on the way to the bed.

"Shh," Mike whispered against her lips as Kate gave a loud moan under his touch. Kate chuckled and said an casual oops before pulling his lips to hers a she pulled him down onto the bed with her.

* * *

The following morning,

"I don't know why you're mad. It's just an offer that I wanted to discuss." Kara told Danny, she felt incredibly aggravated as Danny refused to take it easy and she barely mentioned Kate and Mike's offer only to get her head snapped off by her husband.

They had stayed the night in their St Louis home, which they'd been letting out a holiday home. So they had only had to borrow a highchair and porta-cot from Lena for Frankie. Kara had to admit she loved being back and the conveniences of it like having close friends nearby, free babysitters and baby supplies.

"We don't need it. I'm not going to be a trainer for wannabe sailors and corporate people who think exercising is optional." Danny said firmly as he downed his pain killers with some toast and a sip of coffee. Frankie happily smashed her toast into her high chair; completely lost in her own world. Kara had to prod her into eating; Frankie sucked down the mush and then went back to pulverising the toast on her tray.

"Danny, the doctors said there's a good chance you won't be able to rejoin the teams." Kara reminded him.

"Might- which means nothing but them covering their asses." Danny assured her, she blew out a breath as she had been the supportive spouse for every broken broken bone and gunshot wound he came home with. But this morning she had a short fuse, all she wanted was a quick practical conversation without dramatics. What she got was dramatics.

"Your joints are fucking messed up." she said, knowing she was cutting to the bone. "They said you would need a knee replacement in the next year, not to mention your right leg is basically pins and plates at this point. Be practical." she told him, he glared at her from across the table hurt by her words. It wasn't the first time they had had this argument. The words changed but the sentiment remained the same of her wanting him to be more practical and be prepared instead of pretending everything will be ok and eventually resolve itself. He also seemed to forget her need to have everything planned out as plans and details gave her comfort.

"Be practical? you spent $200 on a new dress. How is that practical?" he asked her, Kara gave him a droll look. It wasn't like they were strapped for cash, they lived comfortably as they could in the economic climate they were in. But Kara just wanted more stability.

"I sold one of three of my older dresses for it. Don't lash out me just because you think I'm picking on you. I'm not, I'm talking about a back up plan. It's a job offer for both of us." She reminded him as he refused to look at the offer. So she had told him about it.

"As glorified personal trainers." Danny said in disgust.

"You may want to denigrate it but do you know what I see? I see us coming back here surrounded by friends who are family. A real support system. I see enough money coming into the bank that we can set up a decent college fund for Frankie. I'm not saying we sign the papers and you resign from the Navy today. I'm saying let's at least consider it as a back up plan because if you don't get cleared you'll be medically discharged from service. I can't re-up for at least another 10 months which means we have to look at other avenues." Kara said as she fed Frankie some more pureed fruit and vegetable.

"What?" Danny said as it took him a moment to realise what she was saying.

"I'm pregnant." Kara informed him, news she had been wanting to save until she was at least 12 weeks along just in case but given the discussion they were having. It needed to be brought into consideration.

"Seriously?" Danny asked a smile spreading across his lips. The same smile that made her melt and got them into a lot trouble. Luckily however, the trouble was a beautiful little girl named Frankie and another one on the way as well as fairly happy life together. Even if they did have their bumps in the road.

"Don't smile at me. We're having an argument here." Kara told him, it didn't dim his smile at all as he sat back looking rather satisfied with himself.

"Ok, I'm going to do my damnedest to get back on the teams. But if it doesn't go my way, we take the jobs on offer here." he said pretending to make a compromise so Kara would let it go.

"Ok," Kara said in a manner that made Danny inwardly frown as she didn't look entirely happy.

"You want to stay here." he stated as he realised his small victory in pretending to compromise was not as satisfying as it should be.

"No, it's fine. I know I married into the military life. I just like the job offers as it means we'd be better set up financially and you'd be home with me and Frankie. For this pregnancy and the birth but I get it. I really do, you've worked your whole life to be where you are. I am the same but I know that I have to wait to get mine as it's the take of having the kids." Kara said, damned if it didn't sting Danny as it made him feel selfish for not considering the toll of being home alone while he was deployed.

Yes, he'd acknowledge it was hard on her. It was hard on both of them but he could see that there was more of a sacrifice on her side. She had her career on hold because of their family. Something they both wanted, but he realised it was petty of him to grouch about not being able to return to the teams.

"I want what's best for us all." Danny told her.

"So do I." Kara told him, but he inwardly had to admit that she was looking more at the bigger picture than he was.

"I will look over the contracts and check out the place as a back up option." he said, he didn't want to commit time to this but he realised it wasn't an option if he wanted Kara to be happy. "Maybe we could stay here at the house and swing casual positions while I'm on medical leave. Earn a bit of extra cash while I'm laid up. Possibly rehab here, but nothing is set in stone." Danny offered, he saw Kara's expression lighten at the suggestion.

"Thank you." Kara said sincerely as she was glad he wasn't completely brushing her off in this.

* * *

"Yum!" Kate told Alex as she tried to feed him his breakfast but her son was not having a bar of it. He held his mouth shut and shook his head. Then if that wasn't enough, his bottom lip poked out and quivered as his eyes filled with tears. He wore an expression that Kate read as 'Why are you hurting me Mummy?'.

"Be strong and let it go." Mike said as he gave Kate's shoulder a comforting squeeze as he sat down at the table with his coffee.

"He won't eat it." Kate said to him, tears in her eyes as it was tough seeing her baby cry. It was also hysterically cute how he was trying to manipulate her. "I don't understand you. Yesterday, you loved this gunk I made specially for you." she told Alex.

"Today, he doesn't. He'll change his mind eventually." Mike assured her.

"I really hope we're not raising a fickle child. What if he falls out of love with us." Kate said to him.

"That's guaranteed." Mike quipped but at Kate's shock he quickly amended his statement, "Teenagers say they don't love you but they never mean it." he assured her.

"I'll always love you." Zoe assured Kate from across the table with a smile.

"That makes me feel a lot better." Kate said as she gave up the bowl of solids and placed a bottle of milk on Alex's tray table. The baby picked it up without hesitation and started guzzling it down. "Weirdo." she told Alex, he stopped in his drinking and waved at her which made her melt and instantly forgive his rejection of the solids meal she had painstakingly prepared.

* * *

"Mmm, I like that." Rachel said as Tom massaged her back. She felt so relaxed and spoiled at the moment as she laid on her stomach with her head turned to the side. They had slept for over 7 hours and not had to get out bed for more than the necessities. While they missed their kids and Jed; they were enjoying the break.

"Good, so what do you want to do today?" Tom asked as he smoothed his hands up her back and pressed a couple kissed down her spine. Rachel smile sleepily.

"Besides you?" she asked teasingly.

"Yeah." he said with a chuckle.

"Sleep and eat." Rachel offered as that was about all the energy she had in her for the day. Tom knew how to satisfy her a little too well as last night proved. She was not leaving this bed except to bathe and use the bathroom.

"Sounds good to me." Tom told her, as he couldn't get enough of her. He rolled her onto her back and gave her slow and languid kiss as he pulled her under him. They only had 48 hours before they returned to the family home. So he was going to make the most of his honeymoon with the new Mrs Tom Chandler.


End file.
